Random Thoughts on a Wayward Bus

[aries4747]

OpenTV Selected by TrueVisions UBC for PVR Launch

Thailand's leading digital pay-TV operator to offer personal video recording services powered by OpenTV Core2(TM), OpenTV PVR2(TM)

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- OpenTV Corp. (Nasdaq: OPTV), a leading provider of solutions for the delivery of advanced digital television and cross-platform interactive services, announced today that TrueVisions UBC, Thailand's leading digital pay-TV operator, has selected OpenTV's middleware solution to enable and power their new PVR services.

'OpenTV is very excited to have been selected by TrueVisions UBC to enable a wide array of PVR functionalities and power a strong offering of new services,' said Mike Ivanchenko, OpenTV's Senior Vice President of Sales. 'This new deployment further strengthens OpenTV's position as the provider of choice for middleware solutions and reinforces our vision of an integrated digital world where consumers have easy access to meaningful and targeted content.'

TrueVisions UBC will be offering standard definition personal video recorders by Humax integrated with OpenTV Core2 and OpenTV PVR2 solutions, in combination with Irdeto's content security for digital TV. OpenTV's advanced platform will provide TrueVisions UBC subscribers with a range of interactive TV content, PVR services and will allow for mobile and Web management of their PVR services. The EPG, PVR applications, and interactive TV services were developed by TrueVisions UBC and integrated seamlessly with OpenTV's platform.

'OpenTV has been a key partner in our efforts to offer compelling and advanced services to better enable our customers' lifestyle to enjoy television and other value added services,' said Ongard Prapakamol, Chief Commercial Officer for TrueVisions UBC. 'Their solutions enable us to fulfill our product strategy in providing a well integrated PVR with a highly intuitive user experience and compelling interactive TV services like football live score, games, and much more exciting services to come.'

TrueVisions UBC's PVR services are currently in final testing and are expected to launch early 2008.

About OpenTV

OpenTV is one of the world's leading providers of solutions for the delivery of digital and interactive television. The company's software has been integrated in more than 96 million digital set-top boxes and digital televisions around the world, and enables enhanced program guides, video-on-demand, personal video recording, enhanced television, interactive shopping, interactive and addressable advertising, games and a variety of consumer care and communication applications. For more information, please visit http://www.opentv.com.

About True Visions Plc.

TrueVisions UBC, a subsidiary of True Corporation Plc, is the largest subscription-based television provider in Thailand. TrueVisions provides a superior-quality signal through its CAtv and DStv networks. TrueVisions is committed to delivering globally-popular programming on 82 high-quality channels, including infotainment, knowledge, news, sports, and entertainment content. TrueVisions boasts a wide selection of home entertainment as well as impressive after sale service. TrueVisions offer its subscribers the Platinum Package, Gold Package, Silver Package, True Knowledge Package, and 38 channel convergence package known as TrueLife Free View. And now TrueVisions also offers a new buy-through package from HBO, Discovery and Disney.

Cautionary Language Regarding Forward-Looking Information

The foregoing information contains certain 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from these expectations due to changes in political, economic, business, competitive, market and regulatory factors. In particular, factors that could cause our actual results to differ include risks related to: market acceptance of interactive television services and applications such as ours; delays in the development or introduction of new applications and versions of our service; technical difficulties with networks or operating systems; our ability to manage our resources effectively; changes in technologies that affect the television industry; and the protection of our proprietary information. These and other risks are more fully described in our periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and can be obtained online at the Commission's web site at http://www.sec.gov. Readers should consider the information contained in this release together with other publicly available information about our company for a more informed overview of our company. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE OpenTV Corp.



Source: PR Newswire (January 10, 2008 - 8:30 AM EST)

News by QuoteMedia
www.quotemedia.com

[aries4747]

OPTV: Value Find: OpenTV Corp (1.18).

http://www.smallcapinvestor.com/articles/01082008-value_find_opentv_corp
Matt Ragas | Jan 08, 2008 6:20am EST

Massive insider buying, a badly beaten-down stock price, a strong balance sheet and a still solid market position make for an interesting situation at a small-cap interactive TV solutions provider.

Founded a decade ago, San Francisco, Calif.-based OpenTV Corp. (Nasdaq: OPTV) survived the tech crash and today is one of the world’s largest providers of solutions for the delivery of digital and interactive television. OpenTV’s middleware solutions have been deployed by more than 40 network operators in over 96 million digital set-top boxes and digital TVs. Clients include EchoStar Communications (Nasdaq: DISH), BSkyB, Sky Italia and FOXTEL. OpenTV believes that it holds 60% market share worldwide in the middleware market.

While these are all impressive sounding numbers, OpenTV’s survival skills and large installed customer base hasn’t historically resulted in steady profits. As of this writing, OpenTV trades for a paltry $1.25 a share, near the bottom of a 52-week range of $0.93 to $2.85. Once a Wall Street darling, OpenTV attracts little analyst coverage these days. The stock suffered from a string of missed expectations and lowered guidance in 2007. The $175 million market capitalization firm’s competitors are a potent group, which includes heavyweights Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq: MSFT), Scientific-Atlanta, a unit of Cisco Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO), and NDS Group plc (Nasdaq: NNDS), which is controlled by News Corp. (NYSE: NWS).

Given the stagnant stock price, its unprofitable ways and a scary group of competitors, it might be easy to write-off OpenTV on first glance. However, every dog has its day and, under closer review, this looks like a dog that may still have some bark in it. For starters, OpenTV ended its most recent quarter with more than $71 million in cash (over $0.50 share) and no debt on its balance sheet. Revenue inched up to $71.8 million from $70.1 million for the first nine months of 2007, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) flipped to a negative $3.8 million from a positive $3.9 million in the year-ago period. Given OpenTV’s sturdy balance sheet and modest cash burn, it isn’t going out of business anytime soon.



T

[fringe_remnant]

Interactive TV-Watching Has Advertisers Sitting Up

SCOTT VALENTINE

Globe and Mail Update

January 23, 2008 at 9:46 PM EST

While NanoGaming may conjure images of microscopic robots battling it out on a miniature playing field, what it really means for some advertisers and broadcasters is much bigger.

According to consumer research firm Park Associates, 70 per cent of people under the age of 34 surf the Internet while watching TV. And when there's a game on, as many as 50 per cent of sports viewers also use an Internet-connected computer. Called 'two-screeners,' this young, Web-enabled demographic is just the type of consumer that advertisers lust after.

Introduce something like NanoGaming, which allows viewers to interact with what they're watching and compete against other viewers for prizes, and you have what is potentially the killer marketing app for reaching this tech-savvy segment, experts say.

"Everybody wants to be part of that experience," says Dave Bullock, president and co-founder of LiveHive Systems Inc., the Waterloo-based company behind NanoGaming, which has inked deals with NASCAR, the NFL, and Global TV. "How you deliver it and where it's commercialized is the question."

NASCAR.com's 'Race for the Coke' prediction challenge allows fans to predict the outcome of each NASCAR race, every week. Correct predictions earn points for the viewer and their favourite driver. Weekly top scorers will win one of 46 NASCAR prizes.
The Globe and Mail

NanoGaming blends bar-style trivia games with social networking and challenges participants to use their knowledge of what they're watching — be it a sports game or a reality TV show — to anticipate what might happen next. Fans are presented with possible scenarios, such as, "Will Tom Brady score on this drive," or "Who'll get kicked off Big Brother this episode?" Answer them correctly and players earn points that can be redeemed for a variety of rewards such as big-screen TVs or trips to sunny locations.

Meanwhile, players interact with company brands like Coca-Cola and Lexus on the NanoGaming website in what amounts to a synchronized sporting event/game show/commercial.

In a similar venture, Santa Monica-based Jacked Inc. signed a deal in December with NBCSports.com to provide news and information such as statistics, player profiles and a chat service during Sunday Night Football broadcasts.

Advertisers and broadcasters are warming to the nascent genre of interactive entertainment, believing they're reaching a captive audience. Because the viewer is so absorbed in the interactive experience, they are more engaged and have a higher level of recall, marketing experts say.

"In NanoGaming, if you get the psychological elements right and you let the consumer know the moment is being brought to them by Coke or whoever, they'll probably be happy to buy something," says technology analyst Bill Harvey, founder of New Century Media. "If instead of interrupting consumers with advertising that they don't want, you bring them programming as a gift … you get seven times the average effectiveness of a TV commercial."

Plus — and this is something advertisers and broadcasters love — this type of interactive entertainment only works if the two-screener is tuning into a live broadcast. With the growing popularity of digital video recorders (DVRs) and their ability to pause live TV and fast-forward through commercials, advertisers are constantly on the lookout for live programming, which they consider the best venue in which to expose their brands.

"We help eliminate that situation where the user is disengaging or choosing a DVR," says LiveHives' Robert Riopelle, vice-president of business development. "It becomes a situation where the interactive option is only available live, the first time something airs."

Another attractive aspect of interactive entertainment is that it straddles television genres and works effectively with sports, reality TV and other forms of live programming. It also attracts a diverse audience — male and female — that's attuned to the nuances and communal aspects of social networks, Mr. Harvey says. And there's lots of room to grow.

"Online role playing worlds, video games, fantasy sports … all these opportunities are immersive and are youth oriented," Mr. Harvey says. "As a cluster, that's certainly worth billions of dollars."

Global TV, which tested LiveHive's NanoGaming platform during the most recent airing of the popular reality show, Big Brother 8, In the House, found the interactive element kept viewers tuned in to the show long after the credits rolled.

"Big Brother was on the radar because it has that kind of cult following [where NanoGaming works well]," says Neil Sweeney, director of business development and strategy for Global TV. "We were getting people logged in and interacting as two-screeners for up to 40 minutes, two or three times per week. People were in chat rooms long after the show ended, and picked up conversations over days and weeks."

While advertising and viewer retention are interactive entertainment's one-two punch, the hidden gem in something like NanoGaming is the customer data the interactive entertainment generates. Part of LiveHive's mandate, Mr. Bullock says, is to evaluate how people are exposed to brands and measure how they interact with them. All that interaction creates a wealth of consumer data that holds tremendous value.

"It's as useful to us as it is to an advertiser," Global's Mr. Sweeney says. "We treat it like it's our brand, it's our audience."

But while interactive entertainment such as NanoGaming is a novel idea, it's still relatively new and faces considerable challenges. Adoption by broadcasters and content publishers has been stymied by complex intellectual property and digital content ownership rights. And, the two-screener experience still relies on large devices like a computer or television to be compelling. Without a viable mobile plan, the genre may get stuck in a rut.

Still, some experts already think interactive entertainment has a solid future.

"I explain NanoGaming to people at a cocktail party and they get it right away," Mr. Harvey says.

Special to The Globe and Mail

BY THE NUMBERS

* 100 Million — Number of U.S. TV viewers who surf the Net at the same time
* 70 — The percentage of people under 34 who watch TV and are online at the same time
* 39.5 — The percentage of adults who regularly watch TV while online
* 13 — The percentage of people under 34 who are looking up information online related to what they are currently watching on TV

BIGresearch; Park Associates

[fringe_remnant]

Amazing How This Has Worked Out -e-

[aries4747]

PHST (6.30):Big board move should open doors, IMO.

Moved up to Nasdaq last week (following a 1 for 3 R/S) and will finally get the attention it's deserved for a couple of years, IMO.



Pharsight Common Stock to Begin Trading on Nasdaq Capital Market Today
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Nov. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pharsight Corporation (Nasdaq: PHST), a leading provider of software, strategic consulting, and regulatory services for optimizing clinical drug development, announced today that its common stock will trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol 'PHST,' starting at the opening of market today, November 27, 2007. The stock previously traded on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol (OTC Bulletin Board: PHRS).

About Pharsight Corporation

Pharsight Corporation develops and markets integrated products and services that enable pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to achieve significant and enduring improvements in the development and use of therapeutic products. Pharsight's goal is to help customers reduce the time, cost and risk of drug development, as well as optimize the post-approval marketing and use of pharmaceutical products.

Pharsight's approach enhances the fundamental element of drug development success: strong decision-making. By adopting the Pharsight approach, customers acquire a new decision-making process with the potential to systematically improve every level and phase of their business and scientific processes. Pharsight Corporation is headquartered in Mountain View, California. Information about Pharsight is available at http://www.pharsight.com.

SOURCE Pharsight Corporation



Source: PR Newswire (November 27, 2007 - 6:30 AM EST)

News by QuoteMedia
www.quotemedia.com

[aries4747]

PHST: Added news today to a nice run.

Pharsight Releases Drug Model Explorer(R) Version 1.6
7/16/2007

Feature Improvements Extend Use of Product Profiles, Enhance Display of Model-Based Success Predictions Versus Competing Treatments

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., July 16, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ --
Pharsight Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: PHST), a leading provider of software and strategic services for optimizing clinical drug development, today announced the release of Drug Model Explorer (DMX(R)) version 1.6. The new release supports improved visualizations of predicted drug performance against user-defined target measures of clinical safety and efficacy that collectively define a product profile.

DMX is a web-based and desktop software tool that allows clinical drug development teams to quickly and efficiently explore the modeled efficacy, safety, and other performance attributes of a new drug versus competing therapies.

The DMX 1.6 release displays the chance that a modeled drug effect will meet a specific target profile, through additions to the software interface that present probabilistic results more prominently to support clinical development decision-making. DMX 1.6 provides the ability to create, explore, compare and manage product profiles, using existing DMX data and functionality in combination with new profiles features.

DMX 1.6 continues to support the full set of end-user features available in previous releases, and adds support for Oracle(R) database version 10g and Internet Explorer version 7.0. DMX 1.6 also provides an updated user interface for the desktop viewing application to provide the same look and feel as the web-based viewer.

"DMX's intuitive presentation of model-based product profiles is especially powerful when a new drug faces tough competition," said Shawn O'Connor, president, chief executive officer and chairman of Pharsight. "The new release makes competitive product profiles a central aspect of the interface so drug development teams and decision-makers can interact with model-based results in a familiar context. FDA's recent draft guidance on target product profiles as a strategic communication tool, and continued advocacy of model-based drug development to support its Critical Path Initiative, reinforces our expectation that profile-based DMX results have value to advance the use of quantitative modeling and simulation. We continue to work closely with our customers to meet their emerging technology needs, and look forward to receiving early feedback from the field on this latest DMX release."

About DMX

DMX is a software visualization and communication tool to explore model-based results of a compound's product profile. Through the DMX interface the development team can address key strategic development questions by comparing probabilistic outcomes for different endpoints, treatment strategies, and patient populations against competing products. DMX results are presented as a series of plots and tables that can be quickly updated based on pre-simulated models of clinical effect. Results are accessible from networked desktop or laptop computers for individual exploration, interactive team discussion, and communication of development strategies and program alternatives with senior decision-makers. Pharsight believes that DMX will help increase the usage of quantitative-based decision-making in the drug development process.

About Pharsight Corporation

Pharsight Corporation develops and markets integrated products and services that enable pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to achieve significant and enduring improvements in the development and use of therapeutic products. The company's goal is to help customers reduce the time, cost and risk of drug development, as well as optimize the post-approval marketing and use of pharmaceutical products.

Pharsight's approach enhances the fundamental element of drug development success: strong decision-making. By adopting the Pharsight approach, customers acquire a new decision-making process with the potential to systematically improve every level and phase of their business and scientific processes. Pharsight is headquartered in Mountain View, California. Information about Pharsight is available at http://www.pharsight.com.

Forward Looking Statements

The statements in this press release related to the design and performance of the Pharsight Drug Model Explorer product are forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements are inherently speculative, and actual results may differ materially from Pharsight's expectations due to a variety of factors, including: changes in FDA regulations may affect the demand for Drug Model Explorer; and customers may not perceive the benefits of the product to be the same as Pharsight believes them to be. Other risk factors relating to Pharsight are disclosed in the company's most recent Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 27, 2007. All forward-looking statements are based on information available to the company on the date hereof, and the company assumes no obligation to update such statements.

Registered Trademarks

Pharsight, Drug Model Explorer and DMX are registered trademarks of Pharsight Corporation.

SOURCE Pharsight Corporation

investors, Jennifer Beugelmans, [phone], Douglas Sherk, [phone], or media, Jennifer Saunders, [phone], all of EVC Group http://www.pharsight.com/

Copyright (C) 2007 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

[Arrow335]

The Renaissance of Clearly Canadian, (CCBEF) Could be the turnaround story of the year imo. Just held the 200DMA and going up for good reasons.

Clearly Canadian Acquires My Organic Baby
Friday May 25, 1:22 am ET
Innovative Organic Baby Food Company Emerging as Leader in Fast Growing Sector

Additionally Clearly Canadian announced that James Dines has stepped down as Chairman of the Advisory Committee. Mr. Dines stated, "I believe the course has been set, and the company fully understands and embraces the exponential benefits available through the continuous branding of Clearly Canadian as a recognizable and trusted name in the organic and natural sector. That was my original goal and with that accomplished I will leave it to this very capable management team to continue to execute the vision we have so diligently laid out for the future of Clearly Canadian."
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070525/20070524006213.html?.v=1

Check out James Dines.
http://www.dinesletter.com/


Clearly Canadian's New Natural Enhanced Waters Listed with North America's Second Largest Independent Convenience Chain
Wednesday June 6, 8:00 am ET
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070606/20070606005307.html?.v=1

Clearly Canadian President's Update: Company Successfully Positioned in Hot Sector - Organics and Natural
Friday May 25, 11:56 am ET
Double Digit Revenue Growth Expected in 2007

Acquisition of My Organic Baby Inc., Canada's first full nation wide line of organic baby food
Innovative and fast growing line with over 30 product offerings listed in leading baby food retailers; anticipate 350% sales growth and addition of close to $5,000,000 to corporate revenue in 2007
Successful launch of new beverage offerings, including Clearly Canadian Natural Enhanced Waters, with an organic line, targeting explosive healthy, alternative beverage sector
Already over $700,000 in sales of new products in just a few months since launch with listings in major convenience chains and grocery stores
Acquisition of DMR Food Corporation, Eastern Canada's leading organic and natural snack food company
Multiple well known brands selling in leading grocery and natural food stores with significant growth; expected to add close to $4,500,000 to corporate revenue in 2007
Strong balance sheet as of April 30, 2007 with over $7,000,000 in cash and no debt
New and Improved Beverage Distribution Network
Addition of some of the largest, independent beverage distributors in the U.S., including major markets of New York, Boston and Chicago; on track to rapidly increase number of distributors, particularly in southwest and western regions of U.S.
Reality Television Show About Clearly Canadian in Progress
4 episodes have been shot to date; Show promises to bring unprecedented exposure to Clearly Canadian's branded products when the show airs in early 2008 to millions and millions of viewers on a weekly basis
Signed American League MVP Justin Morneau to endorsement deal; joins two time, NBA MVP Steve Nash to roster of Clearly Canadian all-stars
These recent accomplishments at Clearly Canadian have built a solid base for
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070525/20070525005415.html?.v=1


Great News about Couche-Tard, Circle K for CCB. They also own Dunkin Donuts.

Alimentation Couche-Tard can gas up you and your car on both sides of the US-Canada border. The company is the third-largest convenience store operator in North America and Canada's third-largest retailer with more than 5,000 outlets: Couche-Tard in eastern Canada; Mac's in central and western Canada; and Circle K in the US. The company acquired the Circle K chain in the US in 2003, the largest acquisition in its history. (More than 75% of sales are made in the US.) Alimentation Couche-Tard, French for "food for those who go to bed late," sells gas at more than 3,000 of its convenience stores. In Quebec, Couche-Tard owns the Dunkin' Donuts franchise and operates more than 80 shops there.

Company Type Public (Toronto: ATD)
Fiscal Year-End April
2006 Sales (mil.) $9,088.8
1-Year Sales Growth 12.0%
2006 Employees 37,000
1-Year Employee Growth 2.8%
http://www.hoovers.com/couche-tard/--ID__104187--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml

[aries4747]

PHGI: Many forward-looking events to be PR'd, IMO.

****Last week they PR'd receiving the Federal Land Right of Way and the Friday (June 8) start of construction on the access road that leads to the Saturday Night claim. They also stated that construction is expected to last 4-6 weeks with small scale mining operations beginning immediately upon completion. Note: All required Utah permits are posted on PinkSheets under PGHI Reports.

****A June 1 PR detailed progress on obtaining an OTCBB shell so that PHGI could uplist their stock.

From that PR:
Perihelion Global (PINKSHEETS: PHGI), a development company with interests in natural resources, alternative energies, and advanced communications, today provided an update on the previously disclosed transaction to list its common shares on the OTC:BB by virtue of acquiring a fully reporting public shell company.

For the last month, the company has contacted and has been contacted by several interested parties to the proposed transaction. Although Perihelion believes that it has established discussions with credible and 'clean' shell corporations, management stresses that it is essential the process be thorough and it leaves 'no stone unturned' in regards to due diligence required to consummate the transaction.

Perihelion Global Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President, John H. Beebe, commented, "We're just as anxious as many of our shareholders are to complete a change of venue to the bulletin board, however we must make the move forward in a fashion that benefits our corporation and its shareholders to the fullest extent. We're looking for very specific profiles -- shells that have extremely limited operating, trading, along with clearly defined ownership history -- essentially, as much 'shrink wrap' as possible. At present, there are two opportunities we believe meet our criteria that we are intensively exploring and conducting Due Diligence on. We believe taking a more methodical approach will extend considerable long-term security to our corporation from recent lessons learned, and we continue to appreciate the patience of our shareholders during the process."

****As part of that proposed uplisting, PHGI announced "spin-off" plans in a May 8th PR. Though they fell short of their end of May target date for finding a shell, they did update shareholders, as promised, in the PR above.

Perihelion Global (PINKSHEETS: PHGI), a development company with interests in natural resources, alternative energies, and advanced communications, today announced that the company's Board of Directors has approved, via unanimous consent, a resolution authorizing Perihelion Global to uplist to the NASDAQ Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board (OTC:BB) by means of an acquisition of a fully reporting shell company.

Background on the Transaction

Perihelion Global went public via a reverse merger on the Pinksheets in the 3rd Quarter of 2006, and since that time has moved nearly $1B USD in assets into the corporation. It has become clear to management that in the best interest of Perihelion shareholders, the company should expeditiously move to increase its visibility, liquidity, and corporate transparency by consummating a transaction to have its common shares listed on the NASDAQ OTC:BB. At the close of business on Monday, May 7, Perihelion's market capitalization was a fraction of the corporation's asset value and clearly not representative of the corporation's revenue potential.

Proposed Structure of the Transaction

Perihelion, through assistance of its executive management, is currently engaged in the due-diligence process with several OTC:BB shell candidates. Management contemplates the purchase will be done primarily with cash and will not result in more than nominal dilution from the existing single-percent equity interests the shell will retain following the transaction. Typically, shell owners retain between 5-7% of the equity post-merger, which would allow existing Perihelion shareholders to control the remaining 93-95% of the new listing.

The company will transfer all of its cash, assets, and businesses into the OTC:BB entity with the exception of the broadcast radio stations which will remain with the current PHGI.PK ticker. In consideration to existing shareholders, management proposes a 1-for-1 'spinoff' of the PHGI.PK Pinksheet listing so that each and every documented shareholder as of the record date will effectively have double their existing shares; one set in the Pinksheet listing containing the broadcast radio stations, and the other in the OTC:BB listing which will contain the patented gold mine and biofuel refinery. Following the completion of the acquisition, the Pinksheet listing will add new management, change its name and will trade as a distinct and separate company. The 'Perihelion Global' name, and all existing management and directors, will be transferred to the OTC:BB listing.

An Example of proposed impact of reverse merger into OTC:BB shell:

Today you have 5,000 shares of PHGI.PK (contains all assets)

After the merger, you would have 5,000 shares of PHGI.PK and 5,000 shares of the OTC:BB listing*.

* Exact share conversion rate will be determined at the time of completion of the transaction

What to Expect After a Completed Transaction

When the proposed transaction is completed with a qualified OTC:BB candidate, Perihelion would have the duty to file periodic reports with the Securities & Exchange Commission, including all quarterly and annual reports. The company is confident such reports will clearly outline Perihelion's business plan, strong asset base, and audited revenue/income as applicable. For most shareholders, the transition will be automatic and handled by your brokerage firm electronically.

John H. Beebe, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President of Perihelion Global commented, "The company will update shareholders as the process on this initiative moves forward, and on behalf of the Board of Directors and all of the Executive Management, we sincerely thank those shareholders who have remained optimistic and supportive of the company's business plan throughout what has been a difficult tenure on the Pinksheets. We expect to have new information, including details on the OTC:BB company and specific dates regarding completion of the transaction, by the end of the month."

****Further news and updates from the Opp, Alabama BioFuel Refinery project could come at any time.

From their May 9th PR:
Perihelion Global Held Major Press Conference Today in Opp, Alabama Updating Progress on BioFuel Refinery
Perihelion Global (PINKSHEETS: PHGI), a development company with interests in natural resources, alternative energies, and advanced communications, today announced that the company held a major Press Conference at 12:00PM in Opp, Alabama to outline new advancements on its BioFuel Refinery project.

Interviews were given to National Network TV Affiliates NBC WFSA 12, ABC WDHN 18, CBS WAKA 8, and CBS WTVY 4 onsite at the Refinery location. WOPP AM, Opp Local cable station 6, WAMI-FM & WAMI-AM, as well as various other regional and local media outlets, were also present. Afterward, John H. Beebe, Perihelion Global Chairman, Chief Executive Officer & President, addressed the Rotary Club luncheon followed by a lengthy question-and-answer session with the general public.

The company announced an increase in the BioFuel Refinery's production capacity to 60 Million gallons a year from 40 Million based on new technology to utilize multiple sources of feedstock, including biomass and other waste products in addition to peanuts, soybeans and other vegetable oil products.

****And last, but certainly not least, news on the contested shares would certainly be warmly welcomed by shareholders.
From PHGI's April 10th and April 9th PR's.

Perihelion Global Receives Returned Shares From Icarus Investments, Inc.
Perihelion Global (PINKSHEETS: PHGI), a development company with interests in natural resources, alternative energies, and advanced communications, today announced that the company has received approximately 3,957,854 shares which have been returned by Icarus Investments, Inc.

Although the company is pleased it has recovered a large portion of the share dispute involving Icarus Investments and Liberty Consulting, it will not relinquish any legal action or claim against relevant parties until the entire 5,000,000 shares are withdrawn from the open market and returned to the company. Perihelion will consult with its legal counsel to determine the best methodology of canceling all the shares returned to date.

April 9, 2007 - 10:58 AM EDT

Perihelion Global Releases Statement Concerning Recent Events
Perihelion Global (PINKSHEETS: PHGI) ("Perihelion"), a development company with interests in natural resources, alternative energies, and advanced communications, today released a statement regarding current events.

In December 2006, Perihelion Global ("Perihelion") and Icarus Investments, Inc ("Icarus") signed an agreement ("subscription") to provide Perihelion Global $960,000 US in consideration for 5,000,000 subscribed common shares of Perihelion's stock. The funds received were to be used for corporate purposes as capital expenditures for Perihelion's Patented Gold Mine, Biofuel Refinery in Opp, Alabama, and other projects.

Perihelion Global did not receive the funds from the agreement and after numerous inquiries Icarus represented to Perihelion that it was unable to fulfill its financial responsibilities under the agreement. Perihelion lawfully demanded the immediate return of the 5,000,000 shares and Icarus and its legal counsel agreed. After a delay in returning the shares to Perihelion, Icarus subsequently disclosed that it no longer had in its possession the entire 5,000,000 shares to return to Perihelion.

Icarus represented and recently provided documentation that approximately 1,000,000 shares of Perihelion Global common stock were transferred from the Icarus subscription to an account of a third-party, Liberty Consulting International, Inc ("Liberty"), based out of Hallandale, FL. The transfer was conducted without the knowledge or consent of Perihelion Global. The legal counsels for both Icarus and Perihelion Global agree that there is no legal basis or standing for either Icarus or Liberty to have possession of Perihelion's shares.

Both Perihelion and Icarus contacted Liberty and demanded the immediate return of the 1,000,000 shares in Liberty's possession. Although Liberty had represented that they would indeed return these shares, the company has not yet received them as of the date of this release. Perihelion and Icarus explicitly advised Liberty that the shares were restricted and not deemed free-trading under SEC regulations.

Further, the company believes it has clear documentation that Liberty, despite having knowledge that the shares in its possession were restricted and were to be legally returned to Perihelion, did liquidate most or all of the 1,000,000 shares into the open market through assistance of its brokerage firm and legal counsel, and severely impacted Perihelion Global and its shareholders in the process. The 1,000,000 shares in question were never lawfully paid for and therefore had no cost basis associated with them. When Liberty liquidated these shares into the open market it created confusion and tremendous downward pressure on our stock price.

Perihelion Global has legally demanded the immediate return of all shares from both Icarus and Liberty, and will vigorously defend the interest of its shareholders by seeking all relief and remedy available by law including compensation for damages against any party involved. Icarus has agreed to fully cooperate with Perihelion to return the shares transferred to Liberty and has filed suit and injunctive relief against Liberty.

We will provide further updates as we progress forward. We regret that the actions of others have negatively impacted our company and our shareholders. We are taking firm corrective action. You have our commitment that we will fully resolve this matter on behalf of our company and we will continue to remain diligent in addressing all irregularities in our public market.

We appreciate the support and patience of our shareholders.

For anyone with the tenacity to have read this far down, I recommend listening to PHGI CEO John Beebe's conference call from early April. Warning, it's a full hour of info. http://www.pqlresearch.com/PHGI_CC_040906.mp3

[aries4747]

A Nuclear Reaction to Global Power
Uranium price spike spurs mining in the Four Corners

http://www.cobizmag.com/articles.asp?id=1670
By Amelia Patterson

Inspecting his equipment at the mouth of the Pandora Mine on the southern slopes of the La Sal Mountains, Jick Taylor is double checking everything while he waits for the final approval from the Mining Safety and Health Administration to begin mining for uranium.

It is late November, and in the three months it has taken to fully permit the southeastern Utah mine, the price for uranium has gone up from $48 a pound in August of 2006 to more than $63 a pound. By late April, the price has risen to $113 a pound.

Uranium prices have soared in recent months due to a worldwide 80-million-pound production deficit of uranium used for nuclear reactors. For the last three decades, uranium supplies to fuel nuclear reactors have been filled with stockpiled uranium and reprocessed nuclear weapons left over from the Cold War. As energy demands continue to grow around the world, most notably in China and India, the demand for nuclear power has grown.

Growing concern over climate change also has increased the appeal for nuclear power as an alternative energy source that doesn’t produce greenhouse gases associated with global warming.

In 2006, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute, 30 new nuclear plants were under construction to add to the already 435 plants worldwide. In the United States, 27 nuclear power plants are planned along with a $1.5 billion uranium enrichment plant in New Mexico.

If the uranium market holds steady, Taylor, in his early 30s, would be part of a new wave of uranium miners learning the trade. Uranium mining in this part of the country has been dead for nearly 20 years, and few miners remain in the region to teach the next generation.

Uranium mines in the Colorado Plateau are now back in business with prices that support the cost and overhead of mining low-grade ore, which hasn’t been profitable for more than 20 years. The bulk of the uranium mining district in the U.S. is in the heart of the Four Corners region and concentrated in southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah.

Communities in this region have boomed and busted at the whim of uranium prices in the past, and this latest boom may be no different. Uravan, Nucla and Naturita, on the western edge of Colorado, have all felt the glory of booms and the devastation of busts. Uravan, a former Union Carbide company town, is completely leveled now, save one historic building, and is part of a Department of Energy reclamation site.

The center of the current uranium boom straddles the Colorado-Utah border and contains several active mines and the only operating uranium mill in the country. The area covers about 9,000 square miles in four counties in Colorado, including Mesa, Montrose, San Miguel and Dolores counties and roughly three counties in Utah, including Grand, San Juan and Garfield counties.

Taylor’s hair is sprinkled with gray, and his face is weathered from a lifetime spent in the red rock desert of the Colorado Plateau in Moab, Utah. He is a partner of Reliance Resources with Michael Shumway, another Moab local, and together they are one of several independent contractors extracting uranium ore from mines owned by Canadian companies.

Shumway, a veteran miner, survived the bust of uranium mining when all the mines and mills closed in the entire region in the mid-1980s and into the 1990s. He shifted gears and started an earth-moving company, taking advantage of reclamation projects that 40 years of uranium mining produced.

The mining has scarred the landscape of the Colorado Plateau and left a web of roads, now frequented by off-road enthusiasts and mountain bikers, that provide access to scenery that has inspired four national parks and just as many national monuments.

"It is kind of funny," Shumway says. "I have guys out there cleaning up the Atlas tailings pile in Moab, and I have guys who just finished reclaiming the Rio Algom site, and now I am out here digging it out again." Standing in front of the Pandora Mine, Shumway adds, "This is my love right here."

When the uranium industry hit rock bottom in the 1980s, most of the American mining companies moved on or went bankrupt. Annual claim fees proved costly for numerous nonproducing claims. Those that struggled to hold onto mine claims paired them down to areas where they had proven reserves and waited for the market to recover.

At least 10 small- to medium-sized Canadian mining companies have swarmed the Four Corners region to buy up old uranium mines and mills, hoping to fill a supply gap for the world’s nuclear fuel industry.

Shumway and Taylor are now mining for Denison Mines (TSX: DML) based in Vancouver, B.C., which merged with International Uranium Corp. in early December 2006. Denison is gearing up to develop 11 mines between Utah and Colorado and owns the White Mesa Mill in Blanding, one of only two mills fully licensed to operate in the United States.
"With uranium close to $60 a pound (back in November 2006), it is back to being a viable commodity after you factor in all your overhead costs," says Jim Fisher, general mine superintendent for Denison Mines.

Small independent companies are contracting with the larger Canadian mine companies, which now own the mines, to extract the uranium ore. John Reams, owner of Tomcat Mining Corp., was contracted by Denison to work several mines in the Sunday Mine Complex just south of his home in Naturita, Colo.

"A small miner used to be able to afford to mine independently," Reams says. "But now with all the new regulations governing safety, equipment and environmental considerations, it is too expensive just to get started."

Most of the Canadian companies that hold mining claims in Colorado and Utah are exploring for uranium and re-examining old mines. Only a select few are in the position to actually mine. Denison and Energy Fuels (TSX: EFR) out of Toronto are the only companies fully permitted and licensed to mine in Colorado and Utah.

After the uranium ore is mined, it is then trucked to a mill where the uranium is separated from the parent rock. Mills charge extra for ore not originating in their own mines. The uranium then is sent to an enrichment plant to eventually become fuel for nuclear reactors.

Denison owns the White Mesa Mill in Blanding, Utah, the only U.S. mill in operation. Energy Fuels is in the planning stages of building a mill in Paradox Valley in eastern Colorado near Naturita. SXR Uranium One (TSX: SXR), based in Toronto, is in the process of acquiring two mothballed mills, the Shootaring Mill near the Henry Mountains and the Sweetwater Mill in Wyoming owned by Kennecott Uranium, thus positioning itself to collect ore from around the region.

Strathmore Minerals (TSX: STM), based in British Columbia, is determined to build a mill in Grants, N.M., regardless of considerable opposition from the Navajo Nation. The only other licensed mill in the country is in Cañon City, Colo., owned by the Cotter Co., from Colorado. Cotter briefly mined in 2005 near Naturita, but due to the 300-mile trip to its mill and high fuel prices along with technical problems with its mill, it shut down the mines and put the mill on standby.

The market forces that are driving up the price of uranium are global. Thirty countries are operating 435 nuclear reactors, and 30 nuclear plants were under construction as of January, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry organization.

In the United States, 27 reactors are planned, and a $1.5 billion uranium enrichment plant in New Mexico has been licensed to Louisiana Energy Services, a subsidiary of U.K.-based Urenco. The nation’s 104 current reactors are operating on dwindling stock piles, and the world consumption of uranium is 180 million pounds, where production levels are only at 100 million pounds.

The Energy Information Administration estimates U.S. nuclear reactors will need half a billion pounds of uranium over the next 10 years, during which 328 million pounds of required fuel will go unfilled. Prices for uranium have tripled since January 2006, when uranium was selling for $37 a pound; it now sells for more than $113 a pound.

"The easy uranium has been mined. Now that prices are higher it makes sense to go after the more expensive lower grade ore," said Bill Chenoweth, a retired geologist from Grand Junction, who worked for the Atomic Energy Commission in the 1950s. The ore in the Colorado Plateau ranges from 0.1 percent to 0.4 percent U3O8 (uranium).

The Canadian giant Cameco (TSX: CDN) is the world’s leading producer of uranium. One of its most promising mines flooded in October, which contributed to the rise in uranium prices.

"The Cigar Lake flood is driving up the prices of uranium, and this is a mine that has ore grades exceeding 23 percent uranium," Chenoweth said. "Another factor is that stockpiles for nuclear reactors are dropping."

The Cigar Lake mine flood is one of the reasons market analysts at Merrill Lynch raised uranium price forecasts from averaging $58 a pound in 2007 to averaging $100 a pound.
The higher price is fueling the renewed interest in mining in Colorado, Utah and the rest of the Colorado Plateau by smaller intermediate uranium companies from Canada.

"I believe the Canadians are the No. 1 producers of uranium, and so they are tooled up to go," said Carol Dahl, professor of economics and business at Colorado School of Mines in Golden.

Chenoweth agrees: "It is easy to promote uranium mining in Canada."

Uranium prospectors made millions in the 1950s on the Colorado Plateau off of the first government-sponsored mineral rush in history. For national security reasons, the U.S. government created an exclusive domestic market for uranium and guaranteed prices in order to build its nuclear weapons program. The boom was on, and companies big and small tunneled and mined the radioactive ore and put tiny remote towns on the map overnight such as Moab, Utah; Uravan, Colo.; and Grants, N.M.

By the 1980s, the market for uranium either for nuclear weapons or fuel for nuclear reactors in the U.S. had crashed. Nuclear reactor accidents in the U.S. and in Russia soured public support for nuclear power. Government stockpiles for nuclear weapons programs were full, and the prospect of reprocessing nuclear weapons for reactor fuel all but killed the uranium mining in the U.S.

Mines were abandoned, processing mills were shut down and many communities lost populations and slipped into depression. Moab remade itself as a tourist town and promotes the nearby national parks rather than uranium mining.

Shumway is going to hold onto his construction business, and Taylor will continue operating his business building prefabricated wooden trusses for homes. If uranium busts again they will have something else to sustain them.

The New West economy is not spread evenly across the region, but in many areas of western Colorado the Old West economy of resource extraction is reasserting its former prominence in the form of natural gas and oil shale development and now uranium mining.
The World Nuclear Association estimates that the United States has 7 percent of the world’s known recoverable uranium; Australia has nearly 25 percent. While 80 percent of uranium is imported into the United States, domestic production is on the rise with a 78 percent increase in production levels by the end of 2006 from 2005 levels.

In April 2007, the New York Mercantile Exchange and Ux Consulting Co. signed a 10-year agreement to introduce uranium to the futures market. Ux Consulting tracks the uranium prices for nuclear industry. Ux Consulting stated in April that establishing futures contracts should make it easier for new mines to get financing, thus reducing uranium production shortages.

Tom Pool, the president of International Nuclear Inc., speculates that the current stratospheric price of uranium will only last about two to three years as world production of uranium ramps up in response to current prices.

"Prices will decline significantly after that, maybe to about $50 a pound," Pool says. "But even at those prices it will continue to be a strong uranium industry for about a decade. After all, nuclear power will be needed to keep the lights on."

As the demand for nuclear power continues to grow, prices for uranium will continue to support the mining of low-grade ore on the Colorado Plateau. With the country’s only operating mill in eastern Utah, the fully developed mines in western Colorado and in eastern Utah should be the first to benefit from the soaring uranium prices.

[aries4747]

Uranium news keeps streaming out of Utah.

These releases are just from the last couple of days. I would imagine that RSDS is using some of their financing money to advance their presence in the state, too.

Trigon Completes Agreement to Acquire White Canyon Uranium Mines
KELOWNA, BC, June 4 /CNW/ - Trigon Uranium Corp. ("Trigon" or "the
Company") (TSX-V:TEL) today announced that it has completed a definitive
agreement to acquire the mining rights to six Utah uranium mines ("the
Properties") by way of a Lease and Option Agreement with Shumway Brothers
Mining LLC and other owners of the properties ("the Lessors"). This
acquisition is the first step in Trigon's plan to establish a portfolio of
mines in the Colorado Plateau. Trigon believes significant uranium resources
can be developed by re-entering historical Colorado Plateau mines with the
intention of following previously defined ore zones and exploring land
contiguous to these mines.

Uranium One's $1.6B bid for Energy Metals creates U.S. uranium 'powerhouse' at 15:49 on June 4, 2007, EST.

TORONTO (.CP) - Sxr Uranium One Inc. (TSX:SXR) says its $1.6-billion deal to take over Energy Metals Corp. (TSX:EMC) will give it a production forecast to rival that of industry leader Cameco Corp. by 2013.

The arrangement - exchanging 1.15 shares of Uranium One for each Energy Metals share - continues a series of acquisitions for the South-Africa based company that will create a "powerhouse" in the United States uranium sector, said Neal Froneman, Uranium One's chief executive officer.

The company said Monday it expects to produce about 28 million pounds of uranium, used to fuel nuclear power plants, by 2013. Of that, about 25 per cent is expected to come from the company's new mine in South Africa, Dominion Reefs. Uranium One said Cameco's (TSX:CCO)production forecast is for more than 27 million pounds by 2011.

"This will enhance Uranium One's unrivalled production growth profile," Froneman said on a conference call with analysts Monday.

"This will go a long way toward our strategy of producing U.S. uranium for U.S. utilities."

Froneman said the U.S. has 103 nuclear facilities with an annual demand of about 50 million pounds per year. But domestic production is only about four million pounds per year, he said.

The deal's value, based on Uranium One's closing share price of $16.63 on Friday, represents a 28 per cent premium over the 20-day average before Energy Metals announced May 18 it was in talks for a sale.

Energy Metals stockholders will own 21 per cent of the combined enterprise, which Uranium One said will have a market capitalization of US$7.8 billion.

"This is a win-win for both groups of shareholders," Froneman said.

"This transaction results in a powerhouse in the United States uranium sector."

Froneman said the company is poised to profit from a shift in American attitudes towards nuclear power, as the country seeks to reduce its reliance on foreign energy sources.

"There are clear signs of a nuclear renaissance in the United States," he said.

The boards of both companies have approved the deal, Energy Metals shareholders are to vote on it in late July and it's expected to close in August.

Energy Metals has agreed to pay a break fee of C$55 million if another bidder prevails.

The deal follows a series of takeovers pursued by Uranium One as it seeks to position itself as a leading global uranium producer.

The company completed a $3.2-billion stock-swap takeover of uranium producer UrAsia Energy Ltd. in April, and also issued 6.6 million shares to U.S. Energy Corp. in exchange for the Shootaring Canyon uranium mill in Utah and a large package of land in Utah, Wyoming, Arizona and Colorado.


SOURCE: Utah Uranium Corp.

Jun 01, 2007 18:24 ET
Utah Uranium Announces Acquisition of Family Butte Mine Property
MOAB, UT--(Marketwire - June 1, 2007) - Utah Uranium Corp. (the "Company") (OTCBB: UTUC) is pleased to announce the acquisition of a 100% interest in approximately 112 mineral claims, consisting of 2,075 acres in the San Rafael Mining District, Utah, herein known as the "Family Butte" property (the "Property"). The Property is located in the San Rafael Swell area of East Central Utah.

The Property hosts numerous production portals from previous mining activities. Activities primarily occurred in the 1950s when Union Carbide performed extensive exploration aimed at providing additional feedstock to augment their Temple Mountain Mine production for their processing mill located in nearby Green River. Work included driving of numerous portals, and in excess of 80 drill holes (visually estimated) on the Butte top located behind these portals. Activities ceased on the closure of the milling facilities in Green River. More recently, exploration in the 1970s included drilling a parallel Butte top, also within the Family Butte Property, with numerous additional holes (estimated to be 80 - 100 drill holes).

The San Raphael Swell area was explored for uranium and vanadium from the mid-1950s until the early 1980s, when commodity prices caused the closure of many mining and exploration activities. Deposits in the area are typically found in meandering formations of historic channels in the Shinerup formation. In a recent Company inspection of the property, it was noted at numerous locations the presence of layered formations of fine grained sands in various thicknesses (prime host for uranium deposits) in addition to numerous samples of carbon "trash" material, copper and iron pyrite, all Uranium hosts and or indicators. Past production from this formation includes the million plus pounds produced from the Happy Jack, the Marquee and Atlas Minerals first mine, located 10 miles south of the Family Butte property.

Consideration for the acquisition of the Property consists of the payment in stages of a total of $418,000 and the issuance in stages of a total of 500,000 common shares of the Company of which 250,000 have been issued. The property vendors will also retain a net proceeds royalty, of 2% upon commencement of commercial production on the Property.

Utah Uranium Corporation is a Moab, Utah based junior exploration and development company focused on the acquisition of past producing uranium mines that can be brought back into production in the near term with low capital expenditure. All of the mines currently in the acquisition pipeline are within economic haul distances of the White Mesa Mill in Blanding, Utah owned by Dennison Mines. The white Mesa Uranium Mill is currently the only operating Uranium mill in the United States.

[fringe_remnant]

mildtrans

Now you've put your foot in it.

fringe

[aries4747]

YCKM:Yellowcake JV Receives Another Permit to Drill Second Major Project in Wyoming

May 01, 2007 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
RIVERTON, Wyo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Yellowcake Mining Inc. (“Yellowcake”) (OTCBB:YCKM) is pleased to announce that its joint venture partner, Strathmore Minerals Corp (“Strathmore”), has obtained approvals from the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Land Division and the U. S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to conduct drilling at its Jeep Project located in Freemont County, Wyoming. A drilling contract has been awarded to a Wyoming drilling company and all required bonding is in place. Yellowcake/Strathmore will commence drilling activities in July Funding for the drilling will be provided by Yellowcake which recently received the exclusive right to earn a 60% interest in the Jeep property in consideration of US$10 million in expenditures (please see Yellowcake’s news release dated April 19, 2007).

As part of the joint venture plans, Strathmore plans to drill up to forty (40) exploratory holes to extend a known roll front into untested ground. Mr. John DeJoia, Strathmore’s Vice President of Technical Affairs, stated that “this exploratory drilling will allow us to determine the viability of this project as a new development site to add to our future mining portfolio in Wyoming.” Mr. Juan R. Velasquez, Strathmore’s Vice President of Environmental and Regulatory Affairs, added that Strathmore has already completed the archaeological and cultural resources as well as the Flora and Fauna surveys needed to support the project. “We have been working closely with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality and the United States Bureau of Land Management over the past several months to address their concerns.”

William Tafuri, Yellowcake’s CEO commented, “Jeep’s exploration potential is promising for Yellowcake’s goal of additional 'in-situ' recovery projects similar to the near term production of the Sky Project.. The Jeep property, along with our other projects in Wyoming, provide a great base for Yellowcake’s uranium exploration and development within the state.”

Yellowcake Mining Inc. (OTCBB: YCKM) is a Uranium company focused solely on exploring and developing Uranium properties in the United States. Current properties and potential future acquisitions give Yellowcake the expectation of near to medium term production. Yellowcake Mining successfully raised $6 million in February 2007, and there are currently 50,940,000 shares outstanding.

LEGAL NOTICE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Statements in this news release that are not purely historical are forward looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Forward looking statements in this news release include statements regarding that Strathmore will drill up to 40 exploratory holes; that funding for the drilling will be provided by us; that we will provide US$10,000,000 in development expenditures; that ;drilling will allow us to determine the viability of the project; and that this project is promising for near to medium term production. It is important to note that the Company’s actual outcomes may differ materially from those statements contained in this press release. Factors which may delay or prevent these forward looking statements from being realized include misinterpretation of data, that we may not be able to raise sufficient funds to complete the payment obligations; that weather, new equipment may not perform as anticipated; logistical problems or hazards prevent us from exploration, development or from fulfilling our joint venture obligations once formed; that any resource is available for exploitation on these properties; that we may not be able to attract or retain key employees or advisors in the current competitive environment; that results that we have found in any particular holes are not necessarily indicative of larger areas of our property; we may not be able to reach agreement with Strathmore on definitive agreements; and that despite encouraging data there may be no commercially exploitable mineralization on the properties based upon the applicable world uranium prices and the quality or grade of the resource. Readers should refer to the risk disclosures outlined in the disclosure of junior exploration reporting company reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contacts
Yellowcake Mining Inc.
William Tafuri, 877-338-4438

[JohnIraq]

Hi Mild,

They did indeed and hopefully 'they' will (as permits from both State and Feds are required), not withstanding the details previously discussed in this post http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=19777899 to which you responded, also there may be other requirements to which we are not privy at present, although we have heard positive murmurings from the CEO, both the State and Feds are very specific as to the requirements for the issuance of permits and cannot be bypassed... I would like to see these permits granted as quickly as the regulatory process allows, but I will continue to seek independant corroboration of just where RSDS is in the application process and not simply take the word of the CEO as has been suggested to me, (not by you I might add...).

Call me fickle, but it just seems like a good idea...

Cheers, J.

[aries4747]

Two uranium auctions this week: How the process works

If you think those uranium sales that are often cited as the basis for recently skyrocketing prices are secretive processes, you’re right. Everyone wants to know what price people are willing to pay for the nuclear fuel.

While they are often referred to as auctions, these uranium sales are done via a single round of private sealed bids, according to Eric Webb, senior vice president of information services at Ux Consulting Co LLC.

Market monitors UxC and TradeTech provide commentary and develop spot price indicators based on the most competitive offer price out there and other deals, but they never reveal actual bids.

Unlike gold or oil, there is no formal exchange for uranium. However, the recently-established NYMEX futures market could set the stage for a showdown between traditional uranium players and a new crop of participants.

The next such auction – for 100,000 pounds of U3O8, the naturally occuring form of uranium – has its bids due on Wednesday, May 30 and comes from Mestena Uranium LLC. A previous auction of the same size from the Texas-based company drove spot uranium prices to a new record of US$133 a pound in early April. Prices now stand at US$125, according to UxC.

Another unidentified seller, likely a hedge fund, reportedly has two lots up for sale with bids due by June 1. The firs lot is said to be 200,000 pounds of U3O8, while the other is for 100 kilograms of an enriched version of uranium (UF6), which is equivalent to 260,000 pounds of U308.

These two offerings constitute the largest amount of spot U3O8 and equivalent into the market in many months, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see uranium spot price indicators move again sometime soon.

When a seller is prepared to go ahead, a letter with all the bidding specifications goes out to potential buyers with accounts that can hold physical uranium. These are primarily industry participants like utilities, suppliers, and those in the broader category of fuel cycle companies, as well as traders and brokers. Canada’s Uranium Participation Corp. holds their uranium through management company Denison Mines Inc. for example.

However, very few in the financial community have direct accounts and suppliers have generally not been interested in their business, Mr. Webb said.

While he doesn’t see any acceleration in the number of lots put of for sale, the way transactions have taken place has changed somewhat in the last couple of years. Tradionally, buyers make requests and sellers respond with offers to sell. These days, Mr. Webb said sellers are increasingly put their material up for bid – something that is relatively new.

Meanwhile, another interesting development raised by some uranium experts is that speculators may be driving up the spot price of uranium in order to boost the value of their investments in mining stocks.

Jonathan Ratner
[e-mail]

Link to this | E-mail this | Digg this | Post to del.icio.us
Published Tuesday, May 29, 2007 1:10 PM by Jonathan Ratner
Filed under: Uranium

[aries4747]

RSDS: The stars sure seem to be aligned.

I'm looking at a few others with claims in the same area. A couple have already made major moves. Of particular interest is the revitalization of the Shootaring uranium mill.

Wyo firm sells uranium mill

Friday, May 04, 2007

TICABOO, Utah (AP) -- A Wyoming-based company has sold a uranium mill in southern Utah to a Canadian company, fueling hope that it will operate for the first time since the early 1980s.

"Hope springs eternal," Garfield County Commissioner Maloy Dodds said. "We've had a whole lot of interest in uranium in the last year. Everybody's filing claims and refiling claims.

"We've had more filings in the last year than in the past 20 years," Dodds said.

U.S. Energy Corp. said it sold the Shootaring Canyon uranium mill, north of Lake Powell, along with 38,000 acres of mineral claims and leases, to sxr Uranium One Inc.

[mildtrans]

5 to seven bagger from here when 504 will be done and much higher when exploratory geo to delinate reserves will be done. At least ten bagger in six month if everything goes well.Assuming O/S at 1.5 billion a $10 million only market cap. will put PPS at 0.007.

[aries4747]

Thanks, mildtrans. Any further thoughts on RSDS?

[mildtrans]

My understandind RSDS applied for an exploratory mining permit wich should be approved fairly quick.

[aries4747]

Uranium Mine Ownership - USA... Useful link.

http://www.wise-uranium.org/uousa.html

[aries4747]

From Finch article re: STHFJ

Bambrough shared a few of his favorite uranium stocks. “Of the companies that we own, we own a larger percentage of Strathmore Minerals (TSX: STM; Other OTC: STHJF) than almost any other company,” said Bambrough. “We think they’ve got some great properties. They were guys who got into the game very early, and who have skills as they do with David Miller (president and chief operating officer of Strathmore Minerals) in understanding the uranium business. And they have a very large amount of databases, as does Energy Metals Corporation, which is extremely valuable in understanding the properties.” Both Strathmore Minerals and Energy Metals have properties in New Mexico and Wyoming. “I think the future for New Mexico is quite good,” Bambrough noted, “as well as ISLs in Texas and Wyoming.” Said Strathmore’s president, David Miller, “Strathmore is the only company to open an office up in New Mexico dedicated to bringing properties into production. The office is staffed by two veteran uranium men, John Dejoia, VP of Technical Services and Juan Velazquez, VP of Environmental and Government Affairs. They have a number of subcontractors doing various required work to bring projects forward to obtain permits to mine.”

[aries4747]

STHJF sure benefitted from January decision.



Uranium Mining Companies Cheer NRC Legal Decisions on New Mexico Property
U.S. Gov't Agency Calls Local Environmental Group's Arguments Disingenuous
SARASOTA, Fla., Jan. 23, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Mining executives at uranium companies proposing to develop In Situ Leaching uranium operations in northwestern New Mexico, near Navajo Nation territory, upon which uranium mining has been banned, celebrated a three-judge panel's recent decision over the contested HRI project by Uranium Resources (OTCBB:URIX). Legal arguments advanced by the local environmental activists have been labeled "insubstantial" and "disingenuous" in NRC conclusions announced recently and over the past year. Commentaries from both sides appear in a copyrighted series of articles in StockInterview.com. Other companies, such as Strathmore Minerals (TSX-V:STM) (Other OTC:STHJF) and Energy Metals (TSX-V:EMC) stand to benefit from the recent decision, which may involve uranium assets potentially valued in excess of $20 billion (gross value with spot uranium at $36/pound).

"It helps that the regulatory community shed light on the inaccuracies, and on the disingenuous approaches the anti-nuclear contingent brings to the argument," Juan Velasquez, Vice President of Environmental and Regulatory Affairs for Strathmore Minerals told StockInterview.com. Late last year, Strathmore opened a permitting office in Santa Fe, New Mexico to move forward a nearby property into ISL operational development. William Sheriff, Director of Corporate Development for Energy Metals, which holds nearby uranium properties, told StockInterview.com, "I think the rulings by the NRC (on HRI's applications), are very positive. It's just another step toward production."

Environmentalists challenged the project on the basis of groundwater contamination, an appeal which a full panel of NRC commissioners recently refused to hear. Craig Bartels, president of HRI, clarified the rhetoric in a taped interview with StockInterview.com, "We hear this all the time: 'The water is pristine drinking water.' That is not at all correct. The water is already toxic." Federal and county panels have routinely dismissed the legal arguments presented by the activists.

The entire three-part series, which appears today, discusses the legal war between uranium mining companies versus the environmentalists and the Navajo Nation. The first installment in this series is posted on the Internet news website, StockInterview.com: http://www.stockinterview.com.

CONTACT: StockInterview.com
Julie Ickes
[phone]
[e-mail]



Source: PrimeNewswire (January 23, 2006 - 8:00 AM EST)

[aries4747]

JohnIrag, Wyoming describes fast track process.

Wyoming Politicians, Regulators Eager to Fast Track ISL Mining Operations

Submitted Monday, March 06, 2006
Submitted by: JamesFinch
StockInterview.com

While other states’ politicians are wondering how to keep their voters employed, Wyoming ’s mining companies are scrambling to find workers for their projects. According to Matt Grant, Assistant Director of the Wyoming Mining Association, “The mining industry has at least 700 job openings right now." He added, “Those are direct jobs. If you include the service industry jobs, for which there is a ratio of three service industry jobs for every direct job, then the real number is closer to 2,800."

Grant explained that an unskilled worker could start tomorrow with an annual salary of $44,000. “A skilled electrician can make up to $100, 000 per year," Grant confided. Living in Wyoming isn’t expensive, and of course, energy costs are somewhat lower. Right now, Campbell County ’s Chamber of Commerce, the Casper Area Development company, and Sweetwater County ’s job recruiters are slugging it out to find laid off auto workers for the increasing number of job openings this state offers. As Wyoming ’s Secretary of State Joe Meyers told StockInterview.com, “If the companies are going to build uranium plants, tell them to bring their own workers. There’s none here."

With a rising spot uranium price, and Wyoming “suddenly" becoming in vogue again, Wyoming politicians are celebrating. Grant re-iterated the oft-quoted uranium oxide (U3O8) figure for Wyoming ’s reserves: 300 million at $50/pound. In the intriguing, and yet confusing, method in which the Energy Information Agency calculates ore body reserves for uranium, the higher the price of uranium, the more the reserves. It doesn’t matter, though, because Wyoming has plenty of uranium.

How Wyoming Politicians Feel About Uranium Mining

State legislator, Dave Edwards, who represents Douglas, the nearest town to Cameco’s Power Resources’ operation at the Smith-Highland ranch, where uranium is ISL mined, remarked on the wild frenzy of staking for uranium claims in Wyoming , “We are already feeling the effects. It’s good for the real estate market." But how does he feel about uranium mining for those who voted him into office? “It does provide high-quality jobs," he responded. “If there were no uranium mining, there would be a big impact." Edwards, a former Navy pilot with more than 1,000 jet landings on aircraft carrier, during the Vietnam War, doesn’t believe all the myths about the dangers of uranium mining, “I’ve not heard any talk from any of my constituents about how dangerous uranium mining is. I think people have common sense. I think people understand what nuclear power really is, and when properly taken care of, there is no need for hysteria. It’s just not going to blow up anybody’s brain or screw up any children. We’re at that point in mining and using uranium."

That’s quite a contrast from those who say “not in my backyard," as was sometimes heard by the less well educated in rural New Mexico, when talking about uranium mining. Edwards spoke frankly about the Smith Ranch uranium operation, “One of the best things in Converse County we have is the ‘in situ’ (ISL) mining uranium operation on the Smith Ranch. It’s done by Power Resources, and they do a very nice job of it." Edwards has, from time to time, toured the Smith Ranch facility to inspect the uranium mining operation and gives Cameco the thumbs up, “The uranium metal never hits the air space. It is enclosed, virtually from the time it comes out of the ground until it is put in a barrel, loaded into a truck and hauled off."

Senator Robert Peck, who represents the Riverton area, and also publishes the Riverton Ranger newspaper, is savvy to the uranium industry. One acquaintance told StockInterview.com that it was Senator Peck’s earlier successes in the uranium business that paid for his house and his nest egg. He believes there is still growth ahead for Wyoming ’s uranium industry. Responding to whether there is any uranium left in Wyoming after the massive extractions of the past 50 years, Peck answered, “There’s lots left." He remarked upon Cameco’s Power Resources subsidiary, “Their largest resource of their many holdings, around Wyoming , is in the Gas Hills. That was the center of uranium production for over a thirty year period. There were three uranium mills there and they still show 50 to 60 million pounds of recoverable uranium in the Gas Hills proven by previous drilling."

How does Peck envision the uranium industry in Wyoming playing out, over the next decade? “I think we are going to see three or four companies that are comfortable with, and knowledgeable about, uranium and nuclear power running the show in the uranium resurgence." He likes Cameco, that’s for sure. “I see Cameco just becoming better and better positioned with uranium mining, and uranium fabrication of fuels. They are in the entire cycle, as well as having big operations in Kazakhstan , where they will be producing a significant amount of uranium there. In the mean time, they think they’ve got the best uranium reserves in Wyoming already with what they picked up during the down period, including the Gas Hills remaining reserves."

Peck also has kind words for Strathmore Minerals (TSX: STM). “Strathmore Minerals has got properties all around the country and the world, too, but they’re not in production yet," Senator Peck said. “They are gathering capital and deciding where to best invest this capital, where it will have the best chance of a successful payoff. They’re getting in from the ground up for uranium production."

Wyoming could become a relatively steady uranium producer, but it won’t be the good old days. “We’re not going to be up to where we were at the peak, when we produced 150 million pounds," Senator Peck admitted. “We’re going to be up to 4 million pounds per year, which is going to make a solid, but significantly smaller industry. I don’t think we’re going to see the days when we used to have the greatest collection of Caterpillar scrapers in the world, out here moving millions of yards of dirt in the Gas Hills to go down 300 or 400 feet, to get to the roll fronts."

Senator Peck is very clear about his views on nuclear power, “I think the future of the nuclear industry is very bright. I see the utilities are gaining courage. We’re going to see the next generation nuclear power stations stepping forward and getting permitted right alongside existing power plants, where people are used to them and comfortable with them." And what is his take on the spot uranium price? “We’re seeing the emerging nations like India , China , Korea , and others looking to nuclear for a significant portion of their energy needs," he said. Senator Peck’s uranium price forecast? “As the price keeps rising, we’ll see $40 to $45/pound uranium."

Wyoming’s Fast Track Permitting Process

The first stop, after a junior uranium company assembles its claims package and begins getting down to serious business, is Wyoming ’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). That’s what John Corra of Wyoming ’s director of that state agency told StockInterview.com it should be, “Come see us early. We think we can help people a lot. The permitting process can be frustrating as all get out. Communicating with the DEQ early and often will help us help them." Those were the advices rendered by both John Corra, and Wyoming ’s Administrator of the Land Quality Division, Rick Chancellor. Both clearly announced they were eager to work with every uranium development company desiring to put an ISL operation into place in Wyoming .

We mentioned that companies, such as UR-Energy (TSX: URE), Energy Metals (TSX: EMC) and Uranerz Energy (OTC BB: URNZ), were hoping to have an ISL permit between 2008 and 2010. “For those companies who say they may have a permit by 2008, it behooves them to come and talk to us before they start gathering the baseline to make sure they got it right," Chancellor cautioned. “Otherwise, they may waste the whole year gathering baseline and find out they didn’t sample for the right stuff." Chancellor explained a company needs to have full disclosure of about a year of baseline data. “You want to know the quality of the water inside and outside the ore zone so that water can be properly classified," Chancellor said. “We’re looking for all the constituents, the physical properties, chemical properties, whatever metals are in there."

Chancellor, who has served in Wyoming ’s DEQ for the past 25 years, outlined the baseline study process, “We classify the groundwater, based upon the baseline studies. We have regulations on how that is done. They have to restore that water to reach that class of use that was pre-mining." But he also warned all uranium companies, “They should make sure their plan for baseline gathering meets our requirements. We stress they can save a lot of time by coming in and letting us know what their operation is about. So when someone comes in, we already have an idea of what they are planning to do."

How long does it take before the frustrating process of permitting comes to closure? Chancellor responded, “It takes about a year to go through that part of the permitting process. It depends upon how responsive a company is to our request for information. Sometimes, they may take 3 months to respond back to our comments. That just drags out." He quickly added, “The permitting process could be faster at the Powder River Basin , or in areas where there has been ISL mining." John Corra agreed, chiming in, “Anywhere where there has been existing activity, or existing exploration, and there’s a fair amount of data for us to make our decisions, then it will go faster."

Does Wyoming ’s DEQ move fast? “We may respond in 45 days because of our in-box stack. It may only take 3 days to review it, but it may take 42 days to work down to it. It depends upon the work load at the time, but we try to get back to them within 45 days, 60 days at the most." Corra helpfully offered, “If some operation has an issue, and a tight timeline, we will always sit down and talk to them to understand what that is. We’ll try to work with them. Otherwise, it is first come, first served. That’s the only fair way." He added, “The DEQ is always trying to find a way to make things happen, to enable things without sacrificing the environment. And we’ll try to help."

What additional advice does John Corra have for the growing number of uranium companies, hoping to develop an ISL operation in Wyoming ? “The other thing we encourage them to do is get ahold of local governments: the county and the municipalities in the area," he counseled. “Just make contact with those entities. Do the on-the-ground stuff and be a good neighbor. If you can be a good neighbor, your life is going to be a lot easier." Corra explained how recently one overly ambitious uranium exploration company had begun staking a sub-division near Douglas , Wyoming , without having the mineral rights. That had been causing a laugh around Cheyenne in the latter half of February. Secretary of State Joe Meyer, whose office had investigated the incident said, “It was a good thing they left and don’t plan to return." Corra repeated his advice, “It is important for these companies to make sure they know what else is going on in the area where they are proposing to put their operations."

Having spent his life working in the minerals industry, and only recently having joined the DEQ, John Corra stressed, “We have some of the cleanest air and cleanest water in the nation. We intend to keep it that way." But his voice mellowed, saying, “As an agency, we have some pretty stringent requirements. It is doable, but it’s pretty serious business. It’s a tough, but doable process. We don’t want to scare anybody off."

[aries4747]

New Exotic Focus For Hedge Funds: Uranium Market

Speculators Drive Up
Price, Irking Utilities;
Adit Capital's Big Bet
By ANN DAVIS
March 5, 2007; Page A1
WSJ
In a new type of nuclear-arms race, hedge funds and other institutional investors in search of higher returns are competing with energy companies to amass scarce fuel-grade uranium, hoping to profit from revived interest in nuclear power.

The intense quest for uranium by speculators has sparked a debate over private investors driving up the price and increasing the scarcity of the world's most sensitive natural resource.

Since investors first delved into the market two years ago, the price of processed uranium yellowcake powder -- the most commonly traded form of processed uranium -- has skyrocketed more than fourfold, from about $21 a pound, traders say. They say uranium prices climbed to $85 from $75 in February due to bidding for supplies offered by a tiny mining company in Corpus Christi, Texas, Mesteña Uranium LLC. The privately held company regularly includes hedge funds and other speculators in sales.

Uranium isn't traded on any exchanges. The somewhat infrequent sales of the commodity in the open market are private, so the price depends on the terms of any given transaction.

Financial investors aren't licensed to possess the radioactive mineral, which is subject to tight government controls aimed at keeping it out of the hands of terrorists and rogue states. Instead, several of those investors have secured access to ownership rights of material stored at licensed repositories in North America and Europe, exploiting legal channels previously used only by utilities and suppliers.

But even with only paper rights to the material, hedge funds are exacerbating what was already the biggest nuclear-fuel supply crunch in decades, according to utilities, miners and large traders. The market represents the latest corner in which hedge funds -- private partnerships that cater to wealthy investors and large institutions -- are seeking outsize returns, an increasingly challenging task as the number of funds multiplies.

Many funds say they are holding their uranium off the market because they expect the price to climb.

"They sweep the market clean. Every pound they can find," said nuclear-fuel broker Kevin Smith, who connects buyers and sellers of uranium for White Plains, N.Y., commodities-brokerage Evolution Markets.

Adit Capital, a small hedge fund in Portland, Ore., was an early uranium investor, buying millions of pounds for as little as $20 a pound beginning in December 2004, said Bob Mitchell, its founder.

It jumped into the uranium market after Mr. Mitchell noticed nuclear utilities allowing inventories to dwindle when the material was cheap, to avoid the cost of storing it. Meanwhile, some mining companies had been selling more future production than Mr. Mitchell figured they would be able to produce, and mines were closed when prices were depressed in the 1990s -- all evidence of a coming shortage.

QVT Financial LP, a $5 billion-plus New York hedge fund that was spun out of Deutsche Bank AG in 2003, won a big portion of a U.S. government stockpile of uranium gas at auction last August for $42.1 million, people familiar with the sale said. Uranium gas is refined from yellowcake as part of the multistep process that produces fuel for nuclear power plants. (Making weapons-grade uranium involves a much more complicated process.)

Two new publicly traded uranium investment funds are adding to the competition. The funds are similar to gold and silver exchange-traded funds, raising money from investors in initial public offerings of shares to buy uranium.

Unlike other fuels and metals, there is no futures market for uranium, but the mined supply is so scarce that some utilities now are striking deals to buy it on future dates at whatever the prevailing market price is on delivery, said Mr. Smith. It's a perilous bargain: The uranium market hasn't had a down week since June 2003, according to Ux Consulting Co., a Roswell, Ga., price-reporting service.

Production shortfalls at uranium mines around the world are helping drive up the price, says Jim Cornell, president of Connecticut nuclear-fuel trading firm NUKEM Inc. Production fell last year, in part because a flood this past October collapsed the underground infrastructure of Cameco Corp.'s Cigar Lake project, a major mine in Canada, soon before it was to begin production.

The investors' arrival has spurred questions about the economic viability of nuclear energy as an alternative to fossil fuels, including coal, that produce global-warming greenhouse gases. About a quarter of the cost of producing nuclear power goes toward uranium fuel, and prices are skyrocketing just as safety concerns over reactors are ebbing. Although uranium is abundant in the earth's crust, bulls see prices climbing to $200 a pound before supply can catch up to push them back down.

Currently, some of the fuel used in reactors comes from U.S. Department of Energy stockpiles and a program run for the U.S. government by USEC Inc., a publicly traded Bethesda, Md., energy company originally formed as a government corporation, to convert old Soviet warheads back into fuel. The rest comes from private mining companies and other suppliers.

When selling uranium, the Energy Department makes no distinction between financial investors and end users, so long as it's held in authorized storage facilities. Bidders must disclose their identity and the nature of their business.

The Nuclear Energy Institute in Washington, which represents utilities and fuel processors and producers, asked the Energy Department on Feb. 5 to exclude anyone but end users from federal auctions. In a letter, the institute asked the government to "protect utilities that cannot procure sufficient uranium in the open market."

Marvin Fertel, senior vice president of the NEI, said in an interview that investor stockpiling isn't in the industry's best interest: "All it does is take what's somewhat scarce and make it a little bit scarcer," he said.

Financial investors say they are just seizing on buying opportunities that the nuclear industry missed. Moreover, industry players say, high prices are encouraging hedge funds and others to invest in mining companies, which will help finance increased production and possibly drive down prices.

The NEI's Mr. Fertel conceded as much. In the long run, "I think we're going to end up with a much better situation than we even had before," he said.

The market began taking off about two years ago. In May 2005, several months after Adit entered the market, Uranium Participation Corp. raised about $80 million for a uranium investment fund via an initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange, and has raised roughly twice as much since. Managed by executives of the Canadian mining concern Denison Mines Corp., UPC controls more than 6.8 million pounds of uranium yellowcake or gas. It says its average yellowcake acquisition cost was $31.75 a pound.

A similar fund, Nufcor Uranium Ltd., went public last July on the London Stock Exchange's AIM small-stock market and now controls 2.3 million pounds, the company says. Regulatory filings show that hedge funds invested in that IPO, including GLG Partners, Citadel Investment Group and QVT Financial LP.

Shares of both funds are trading at about 20% more than the current market price of their uranium, suggesting that investors see prices continuing to climb.

Ux says financial funds have purchased about 20 million pounds of yellowcake since entering the market in late 2004. That is roughly a fifth of the supply being mined each year. Such funds bought about 25% of the uranium sold on the spot market in 2005 and 2006. They are husbanding most of their supplies, having sold only two million pounds so far, Ux officials say.

Today, while the value of some funds' uranium has quadrupled, Cameco and other large miners are stuck with commitments to sell future production for a small fraction of today's prices. In the last three months of 2006, Cameco got an average of just $22.35 a pound for its uranium.

Tension over the issue was evident at a February energy conference in Houston. After John Rowe, nuclear-power producer Exelon Corp.'s chief executive, addressed the gathering, a man in a rainbow-hued jacket rushed up to introduce himself as a potential seller of uranium.

The man was Mitchell Dong, a Cambridge, Mass., entrepreneur who last September launched the Solios Uranium Fund, which recently reported having assets worth $46 million.

"I know who you are!" Mr. Rowe shot back with a laugh. "Are you the biggest villain in the energy industry?" Mr. Rowe later explained in an interview that he believes hedge funds are helping run up uranium's price.

Mr. Dong declined to discuss his fund's recent activities. He told a newsletter last fall that he expected demand to exceed supply for five years. "We're going to buy it, hold it, and when the price is right we'll liquidate a position," he said.

Indeed, eventually "the price of uranium will collapse," said Adit's Mr. Mitchell. "I don't know when, but the mining companies of the world will get their act together. The guts of the trade was getting into it before anybody even knew you could. But the art of the trade will be getting out before the price turns over."

Write to Ann Davis at [e-mail]

[aries4747]

Uranium Shortage Threatens Nuclear Renaissance

Posted by WSJ.com Staff
March 22, 2007, 5:03 pm

Nuclear power’s prolonged slump has led to an underinvestment in uranium mining and uranium-processing facilities, resulting in a severe shortage of uranium, according to a report yesterday by Thomas Neff, a research affiliate at MIT’s Center for International Studies.

And the timing of this shortage couldn’t be much worse — it comes just when the U.S. and other governments around the world are considering building new reactors to meet a potential rebirth of demand for what supporters claim is a cleaner energy source than fossil fuels. Today, there’s only enough uranium production to meet 65% of current needs, according to Neff, and uranium prices have jumped to $85 per pound from $10 a pound just a year ago.

That could possibly end any nuclear renaissance before it even gets started.

The Globe & Mail interviewed Neff about his report, and he told them nuclear-industry executives are getting — and we think this is a technical term — “freaked out.”

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Author, author!
Check the miners’ stocks. They beat the G&M to the story by a few quarters.

Comment by climateer - March 22, 2007 at 5:44 pm
This study needs to be looked at carefully. The news reports all seem to focus on a shortage of Uranium. The real issue seems to a shortage of Uranium production facilities - which can probably be rectified faster than nuclear plants can be built.

Comment by KenG - March 23, 2007 at 8:45 am

[aries4747]

Uranium Google searches inevitably lead to James Finch.

I'm wondering if contacting Mr. Finch would be a DD shortcut.


James Finch is a senior editor of StockInterview.com and is the Market Journal Outlook Editor. Mr. Finch has been awarded Platinum Author Expert or Expert Author status by more than two dozen websites. His features now appear on more than 100 online publications. He is one of the mostly highly ranked online journalists by actual readership on numerous websites.

Email: [e-mail]


James Finch James Finch is a retired real estate developer and active commodities trader. He contributes to StockInterview.com and other publications, but does not invest in the equities markets. He recently contributed to the new publication, "Investing in the Great Uranium Bull Market." His archived articles on uranium, coalbed methane and in the biotech sector can be found at stockinterview.com and other websites. Finch prefers researching and writing on exotic subjects instead of watching televised sports.

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[JohnIraq]

Uranium Mines takes years...

Hi Aries4747,

I'd like to voice my appreciation for you posting this incredibly informative stockinterview.

I have been looking closely and with some interest at the Federal and State application process for permits to explore and mine Uranium Oxide Ore in the State of Utah. Specifically my interest has been piqued by the activities of RSDS (Russell Industries), a pink sheet stock which began accumulating mining claims in San Juan County, near Monticello, Utah, this year, they have amassed 254 claims to date and recently embarked on the Permit Application trail.

In an effort to corroborate their public statements, in which they have stated that they have indeed begun to engage the regulatory process, and to better educate and familiarize myself with the specific requirements for approval, I have exchanged e-mails and phone calls with representatives of the Federal Bureau of Land Management, the Utah State Division of Oil, Gas and Minerals and the US Forest Service.

These representatives have been enormously helpful and kindly related both general and specific information pertaining to the application process and Russell Industries activities to date. Although both Federal and State referred to the potential for environmental assessments they certainly didnt relate anything close to the amount of information contained in your post... it certainly does cause me to raise an eyebrow (roger moore style...) at the degree of regulatory approval required... with one caveat however, and if anybody can confirm this question, I'd appreciate a heads up... I am wondering if the Environmental Protection Agency (when conducting their environmental impact assessment) and the Department of Natural Resources (when examining the full body of collated data), operate something of a 'sliding scale' for the requirements to be met... In otherwords, are the requirements quite this stringent in every case...? I pose this particular question because the Federal Officials I have spoken to, indicated quite specifically, that in the case of Russell Industries the environmental requirements for certain of their claim areas, may not be quite so rigorous... the reason...? They have purchased a number of claims which were 'previously' mined commercially for Uranium Oxide Ore, mostly back in the 1950's, this in and off itself does not mean that the EPA wont scrutinize their application I'm sure, I'm equally as sure that the requirements to be met in the '50's were certainly not as restrictive as they are now, but as commercial operations were once in effect, it seems that a precident may have been set for their reinstatement.

I found the following paragraph from your post most interesting and I would heartily recommend anybody interested in the Permit and Approval process for Uranium Mining Operations (...I'm sure theyre just queuing around the block..!) to give this a couple of good read throughs.


The next step would be how long would it take to get the permit after you submit it and get all this information in your applications. That is a little more variable and, again, it depends upon the agencies and who is involved in it whether you’ve got the Federal agencies like NRC, EPA (which typically you are going to have EPA anyway), whether you are have BLM involved or the forest services. These are all contributing factors on how long it’s going to take. StockInterview: What is the general procedure: how much paperwork is involved, and who reviews it? Richard Blubaugh:It will be several volumes by the time you are through. You could be looking at anywhere from four to six of those 3-inch binders. It would all go to the NRC and the state agency. You wouldn’t send all of that to the EPA. They are just focused on the groundwater so you pull all the groundwater stuff, and they may have some additional requirements that go to EPA. StockInterview: And what if the accumulated data is incomplete? Richard Blubaugh:All agencies have what they call their completeness review so when an application comes in, the first thing they do is do a completeness review and make sure that everything that’s required is in the package, in the application. That’s before they even look at any of the content. They simply look to see that all the pieces are there. Then, NRC has indicated they are going to take a closer look during the completeness review, which they said could last up to 90 days. But it’s more than a completeness review. It’s a completeness and adequacy review, which means that at the end of that period, if your application is complete and adequate, then they are going to continue to review the application for licensing. If it isn’t complete, then what they are going to do is return it to you. They are going to be a little more explicit in why it isn’t complete and where the inadequacies are which will give you a good idea of what else you need to do. At that point then, they go into the EIS (Environmental Impact Study) process. The EIS process has been noted to take anywhere from 18 to 24 months, and longer if you have strong opposition. StockInterview: How much does the environmental permitting process cost? Richard Blubaugh: It does cost a small fortune. The costs are going to vary again depending on the project, area and whether or not an EIS is required, all those different factors will come into play. (Editor’s Note: We checked with Strathmore Minerals’ John DeJoia and Uranerz Energy’s Glenn Catchpole, both of whom confirmed that environmental studies would likely cost in the neighborhood of about $1/pound of uranium mined on a company’s project.)

Your post certainly offers much informtion for consideration, the application process for mining permits may very well be considerably more complicated and time consuming than it seems at first glance.

Cheers, J.

[aries4747]

Permitting US Uranium Mines Takes Years

by James Finch
April 03, 2007 01:00 PM EST

Few investors and analysts have a firm grasp of the length of time environmental studies and the approvals process requires. Having visited numerous investor forums, we realized many investors believe a property is drilled and then mined, after a brief permitting period. Quite the opposite is true, as explained to us by Richard Blubaugh, environmental manager for Powertech Uranium (PWURF). A highly respected environmental manager, Mr. Blubaugh got his start in government service before moving to private industry. We found the same governmental background with others of Mr. Blubaugh’s caliber, such as Strathmore Minerals’ Juan Velasquez and Uranerz Energy’s Glenn Catchpole.

Permitting a uranium mine requires more than a simple application to mine. And, as we discovered, the process can take between three and six years (sometimes even longer), costing several million dollars and requiring numerous scientific studies on a company’s property. This could add additional pressure to uranium prices.

StockInterview: After studying several company news releases, it appears one of the first environmental studies required is the archaeological survey. Why is that done before mining uranium?
Richard Blubaugh: The archaeological surveys are required to evaluate cultural, archaeological and paleontological resources. It’s necessary to do to in order to identify and protect those resources for the whole state—academia as well. You can’t really go out and disturb these areas without knowing what’s there, what might be valuable and what might not. The first thing is to identify a reputable and competent archaeologist or a group of archaeological professionals that have some standing with the regulatory community.

StockInterview: What does the consulting group do then?
Richard Blubaugh: They start with literature review, which would go through the records and see if any previous studies have been done in this area. Those studies are archived generally with the state archaeologists or historical preservation society. Then they determine best where to start and, in this case, we are asking them to start where our drill sites are located because we want to clear those sites so that we can go ahead and start our drilling activities. Then they will review the rest of the property. It could take anywhere from months to years depending upon what’s found in any given area.

StockInterview: What happens if you find something of historical interest? Richard Blubaugh: If you find something, this doesn’t mean you are out of luck or your project is stopped. It just means that it’s going to take a little more time and effort to deal. It usually is a negotiated process under the Federal actions, a Section 106 consultation. If it’s determined to be eligible, then it requires more research and negotiation, which is often avoidance. You fence it off or somehow mark it and stay away from it. But if you have to disturb an area where there’s a cultural asset, then that requires mitigation through digging, identifying, recording, photographing and reporting on everything that’s found. Then, that stuff is often removed and archived in a museum. StockInterview: What do the archaeological consultants look for when going over your ground?
Richard Blubaugh: Items such as dinosaur bones or old stone tools and baskets, and historical resources, which are within the last few hundred years, since the white man has been on the continent. You could have buildings, an old school building or some other structure that had some significance, which maybe is a hundred or more years old.

StockInterview: How does your initial review for PowerTech in South Dakota look with regards to this part of the environmental studies? Richard Blubaugh: We are fortunate at our Dewey Burdock project in South Dakota. Previous parties involved with the site, TVA and Silver King mines, had already done a lot of archaeological work on the site. Because the data is more than 20 years old, we have to go out and confirm they didn’t miss anything on the earlier surveys. I talked to the state archaeology office last week. Indications are that there isn’t anything that’s eligible at the project site. But there are a number of artifacts, mostly in the nature of stone flakes, points, arrowheads and that kind of thing. StockInterview: What are some of the other environmental studies which need to be done? Richard Blubaugh: There are a dozen or more specialized disciplines that have to be studied, such as meteorology, archaeology, paleontology, seismology, vegetation, wildlife and soils. You look at all aspects of the environment that could possibly be impacted by your operations or that could impact your operations. StockInterview: Why are you doing a meteorology study when mining for uranium? Richard Blubaugh: So that you know which way the wind blows. It takes often a whole year’s worth of data to determine with accuracy which is the predominant wind direction. The data exists at weather stations around the country, at Federal installations, at cities, and so forth but the focus and, I guess the key phrase is, site specificity. Along with meteorology is air quality. We also take samples of the air and send the filters in for analysis so we know what kind of contaminants exist in the air before we start operations. It’s information that you need to determine who is most likely to be contaminated if, for example, you had some type of accident. The data we collect gets inputted into computer programs for the NRC. StockInterview: What other type of data are you required to assess?
Richard Blubaugh: You have to determine whether there are other economic resources in the area and whether you are going to be impacting their potential recovery as well, such oil and gas, or sand and gravel. If you have wetlands or surface water then you are going to have to also examine those critters. Typically you look at fish but you can also look at reptiles, frogs and so on.

StockInterview: And of course the water testing? Richard Blubaugh:We have two pump tests included in our exploration plan. The pump tests are going to be up front. That’s going to be the first thing we do relative to groundwater, particularly for the Dewey project. We will probably be starting baseline groundwater monitoring at the Centennial project by June. I expect it will be pretty close to that for Dewey Burdock as well. In surface water hydrology and water quality, we also have to test so if we had any running streams in the project or near the project area, you have to do your sub-baseline on those surface waters as well, determine the water quality and the water quantity also. StockInterview: What do the water studies determine?
Richard Blubaugh: Environmentally it tells you, kind of like the meteorology, which way the water flows, what kind of water it is, quality-wise, and what’s in the water. It also provides certain data for production, such permeability, transitivity, porosity and those kinds of things. Transitivity has to do with how fast the water moves in the ground and the speed of water in the ground, i.e. so many feet per year.

StockInterview: What do you learn by doing some of these other studies, and why are they required?
Richard Blubaugh: We have to identify each soil type and map it. We have to be able to represent which soils need to be enhanced or not during reclamation. Actually, it’s quite an extensive project for soils and certainly the radiometrics are part of it. With vegetation you look at productivity - how much biomass you get off of a given area and also plant cover; what percentage of the underground is covered by plant materials and growing plants. You determine the different species. The wildlife is very similar to that. You have to get into each species. Each one has different habitats and on somebody’s list somewhere.

StockInterview: Why would you do a seismic study? Richard Blubaugh: That deals with earthquakes and the degree of the probability of any particular size earthquake in the region. This goes into your design factors for structures, impoundments and so on. StockInterview: And the ‘bugs and bunnies’ survey? Richard Blubaugh: Yes, I’m glad you mentioned that. That’s typically what we refer to those studies as, but it’s a lot more than bugs and bunnies. We don’t study the insects. That’s kind of a misnomer when we say bugs and bunnies. In our wildlife surveys, that’s the threatened and endangered species and habitats— from birds to bears. Flora and fauna, this covers vegetation and wildlife under one term. StockInterview: How long does it take to complete these studies? Richard Blubaugh: Typically, baseline data collection—that’s kind of the generic umbrella name for all of these different disciplines that you’ve got going on studying the project area and the surrounding environs. Your baseline data collection period typically runs a year to a year and a quarter. In some cases, it can vary depending upon the state or the key agency but generally, you look at a year so by the time you take the data, massage it, put it into your software programs, get the results and prepare your applications to the different agencies involved. You are looking at roughly a year and a half to two years on the outside for submitting your applications. The next step would be how long would it take to get the permit after you submit it and get all this information in your applications. That is a little more variable and, again, it depends upon the agencies and who is involved in it whether you’ve got the Federal agencies like NRC, EPA (which typically you are going to have EPA anyway), whether you are have BLM involved or the forest services. These are all contributing factors on how long it’s going to take. StockInterview: What is the general procedure: how much paperwork is involved, and who reviews it? Richard Blubaugh:It will be several volumes by the time you are through. You could be looking at anywhere from four to six of those 3-inch binders. It would all go to the NRC and the state agency. You wouldn’t send all of that to the EPA. They are just focused on the groundwater so you pull all the groundwater stuff, and they may have some additional requirements that go to EPA. StockInterview: And what if the accumulated data is incomplete? Richard Blubaugh:All agencies have what they call their completeness review so when an application comes in, the first thing they do is do a completeness review and make sure that everything that’s required is in the package, in the application. That’s before they even look at any of the content. They simply look to see that all the pieces are there. Then, NRC has indicated they are going to take a closer look during the completeness review, which they said could last up to 90 days. But it’s more than a completeness review. It’s a completeness and adequacy review, which means that at the end of that period, if your application is complete and adequate, then they are going to continue to review the application for licensing. If it isn’t complete, then what they are going to do is return it to you. They are going to be a little more explicit in why it isn’t complete and where the inadequacies are which will give you a good idea of what else you need to do. At that point then, they go into the EIS (Environmental Impact Study) process. The EIS process has been noted to take anywhere from 18 to 24 months, and longer if you have strong opposition. StockInterview: How much does the environmental permitting process cost? Richard Blubaugh: It does cost a small fortune. The costs are going to vary again depending on the project, area and whether or not an EIS is required, all those different factors will come into play. (Editor’s Note: We checked with Strathmore Minerals’ John DeJoia and Uranerz Energy’s Glenn Catchpole, both of whom confirmed that environmental studies would likely cost in the neighborhood of about $1/pound of uranium mined on a company’s project.) StockInterview: Let’s take Powertech as an example. How long would this process take your company to complete so you could mine at Dewey Burdock (South Dakota) or Centennial (Colorado)? Richard Blubaugh: We are looking at South Dakota where we have NRC. When we are talking about the NRC and EIS process, 2010 or 2011 is what you are probably looking at there. But, for Colorado, in our case, we already have our schedule in place and our consultants selected and we are going to see. But, this is without a mill. We are looking at conventional mining on one of our deposits – open pit – before 2010. StockInterview: Where would the ore get milled? And would you have it trucked to a mill? Richard Blubaugh: We’ve been talking to Sweetwater. It would work just like it would for any other trucking facility, except we would have to get a hazardous transportation permit from DOT (Department of Transportation). Then there’s rail. We have rail close to both our facilities in our planned operations in South Dakota and in Colorado. StockInterview: How do you avoid dealing with a federal agency? Richard Blubaugh: The agreement states – Texas, Utah, and Colorado – don’t have the EIS requirement. They may have requirements that are almost similar to an EIS requirement, but some of them don’t. If you are going to build a new processing facility, then yes there will be an EIS. But if you are just going to build a satellite facility, or if you are going to build an open pit mine or underground mine to conventional mining facilities, you do not require an EIS. StockInterview: Who do you deal with in South Dakota?
Richard Blubaugh: In South Dakota, the major player is called the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Within that group, they house the full panoply of experts and regulators. They have groundwater quality, surface water quality, water rights, air quality, all those functions, and there’s a group also that’s a minerals and mining program. That will be our primary contact point.

StockInterview: And on the federal level? Richard Blubaugh: Because South Dakota is not an agreement state, we will be working with the two larger Federal agencies as well: the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the EPA. EPA issues the approvals for the UIC program which is basically governing injection wells and the aquifer exemption process. NRC issues the source material and byproduct license. Anything having to do with uranium processing goes to NRC.
COPYRIGHT© 2007 by StockInterview, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

James Finch contributes to StockInterview.com and other publications. His focus on the uranium mining and nuclear fuel sector resulted in the widely popular “Investing in the Great Uranium Bull Market,” which is now available on http://www.stockinterview.com and on http://www.amazon.com PowerTech Uranium trades on the Toronto Venture Exchange with the ticker symbol: PWE.

[aries4747]

Uranium to Head North of $500/Pound?

By James Finch

Legendary stock picker James Dines recently compared uranium stocks to the high-flying net stocks of the halcyon days of the Internet expansion era. While the much-hyped and fleeting Y2K crisis never materialized, the U.S. energy crisis for highly sought uranium has been developing for more than twenty years. Still early in the current bullish uranium cycle, investors are scoring triple-digit returns on what some are calling a ‘renaissance in nuclear energy.’

Just as investors caught the curve of a new paradigm in communications and commerce with Internet stocks, many early birds have already begun investing in the nuclear energy story. The nuclear story pitch is simple: How do you accommodate a massive rush for electrical power demand while faced with the dire threat of carbon dioxide emissions and its direct impact on global warming? The growing consensus is that fission-based nuclear power may become the significant stop-gap energy alternative for this century and possibly until reliable technologies can effectively provide the means for renewable-sourced energy.

Nearly 2 billion people across the planet have no electricity. The World Nuclear Association (WNA) believes nuclear energy could reduce the fossil fuel burden of generating the new demand for electricity. The WNA forecasts a 40-percent jump in worldwide electricity demand over the next five years. The world’s most populated countries, China and India, are in the process of creating the largest energy-consuming class in the history of earth. Both plan aggressive nuclear energy expansion programs. Dozens of lesser developed countries, from Turkey and Indonesia to Vietnam and Venezuela, have announced their eagerness to pursue a civilian nuclear policy to benefit power needs for their burgeoning middle classes.

In a nutshell, global utilities are going to need uranium to help feed the increasing number of nuclear power plants proposed over the next twenty years. Herein lays the crisis: the world has been living off rapidly dwindling inventories since the last uranium up cycle. Uranium is now in shorter available supply for civilian energy use than ever before. Over the next decade, as demand continues to outstrip supply, analysts are predicting utilities will snap up known uranium inventories sending spot uranium prices to record highs. During this launch phase, investors have taken notice, chasing up the stock prices of many uranium producers and exploration companies.

Uranium Prices May Reach “Unbelievable Highs”

Toronto-based Sprott Asset Management research analyst, Kevin Bambrough, told STOCKINTERVIEW.COM, “There is a good possibility of a supply crunch that could drive uranium prices to unbelievable highs.” Various analysts predict price targets for spot uranium, in the near-term, above $40. Canadian Augen Capital Corp’s managing director David Mason speculated, “$100 (US) a pound is within reason within the next year or two.” Sydney-based Resource Capital Research is half as generous, forecasting $50/pound by 2007, explaining another 40 percent jump in spot uranium prices will be “driven by end users in the power generation market which is urgently trying to secure supply into the future.”

How high could spot uranium prices run? Kevin Bambrough made a hypothetical case for uranium trading north of $500. “It’s a ridiculous price,” Bambrough confided. “It’s hard to speculate if this is even going to happen.” While he admits that price would not be sustainable, Bambrough makes an interesting point about the concerns facing utility companies, charged with providing us with our electricity. In his futuristic scenario, Bambrough speculated, “There’s a chance that some facilities will have to choose shutting down their nuclear plants (if they can not obtain uranium to fuel the facility).” On that basis, Bambrough calculated the operating costs of a nuclear facility versus the operating cost of a competing fuel. In his conjectural model, Bambrough used natural gas priced at $5.

Bambrough explained, “Assuming that the coal-fired plant’s operating capacity, before you would basically shut down a nuclear facility, you would be comparing it to what you would have to bring on, which would be natural gas. If there is a shortage there (with natural gas), what price would it take before I am willing to shut down my nuclear facility? If you were to shut off the nuclear capacity, and fire up more gas to replace it, it would send gas prices through the stratosphere.” And that doesn’t factor in the cost of shutting down a nuclear facility, itself an exorbitant process. The analyst said he reached his calculation of “north of $500/pound” for spot uranium, under an extraordinary emergency supply crunch, by answering this question: “How much would people pay before they shut it (a nuclear plant) down if there is a shortage of uranium?”

Bambrough’s point illustrates that, unlike coal or natural gas, the cost of uranium in the nuclear fuel cycle is minimal. Thus, uranium is subject to an ever greater price rise without the blowback of consumer panic found in rising fossil fuel prices. Uranium prices might have to approach the level of Bambrough’s hypothetical forecast before even registering concern on an ordinary consumer’s radar.

Despite the recent parabolic rise in spot uranium prices, Bambrough doesn’t foresee the uranium frenzy peaking until the years 2013-2015. What will happen then? “There’s a good chance that the HEU agreement won’t be renewed,” said Bambrough. “Russia may not be selling their uranium. The Russians may want to hold onto what they have.” And if they do sell, they may not sell to the U.S. In 2004, U.S. utilities imported more than 80 percent of their uranium supplies from foreign sources. “It could be that the Russians are interested in trying to build nuclear plants for other countries and be in that business,” he suggested. “That may go hand in hand with ‘we’re going to build you the facility and we can guarantee you supply.’ And Russia would be using the balance of that uranium for their domestic needs.” Bambrough also cited the problem of mines expiring in the face of a potential new demand.

He concluded, “There are time lags to bring new production on versus what needs to be replaced in that 2013 period.” The International Atomic Energy Agency forecast nuclear electrical generating capacity to soar by more than 40 percent by the year 2030, which may further drive demand for tight uranium resources, especially during the period of Bambrough’s forecasted period.

Historical cycles support spot prices higher than $40/pound, a level above where uranium may hover for several years. The current cycle of rising uranium prices closely parallels the leap which occurred between February 1975 and April 1976. Spot uranium prices soared from $16 to $40/pound during that 15-month period. During the 1970s cycle, uranium steadily rose from $6.75/pound in November 1973, peaking in July 1978 at $43.40/pound. Uranium held above $40/pound for nearly four years from April 1976 through February 1980. In this cycle, uranium prices bottomed at $6.40 in January 2001, creeping higher into 2004. Since late last year, spot uranium prices soared with the same momentum seen thirty years ago. If history repeats itself, spot uranium prices should trade above $40/pound this year, and stay above that level until the end of this decade or perhaps for a longer stretch.

The key yardstick in determining how much higher uranium prices will climb is by keeping track of the number of new nuclear facilities being constructed or proposed. Estimates vary wildly, from as few as thirty by 2020 to more than 150 before 2050. “A few years ago, when we first started investing in uranium,” Bambrough explained. “There were very few plants being proposed. The numbers have doubled for proposed facilities. And for every one you hear about, there’s a lot more being planned.” That puts uranium miners into an enviable position. Bambrough added that utilities have to secure their fuel supply for up to six years out, once they decide to build a nuclear facility. “The fact is the supply is just not there,” warned Bambrough.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Cumulative unfilled uranium requirements for U.S. civilian nuclear reactors for 2005 through 2014 were reported to be 365 million pounds U3O8e. The quantity of maximum deliveries of uranium for the same period under existing purchase contracts totaled 181 million pounds.” Nearly 67 percent of the maximum anticipated market requirements for uranium lack a contract. Over the next decade, U.S. utilities will need to newly purchase more than 36 million pounds of uranium oxide each year, on average, in order to keep their nuclear power plants running. According to the Department of Energy website, contracted purchases from all suppliers precipitously falls in 2007 below 40 million pounds. By 2008, the amount of contracted uranium sinks below 20 million pounds.

In short, U.S. utilities may soon be scrambling for uranium inventory to fuel their nuclear reactors, or face the “ridiculous price(s)” research analyst Kevin Bambrough warned about. An excerpt from The International Atomic Energy Agency’s booklet, Analysis of Uranium Supply to 2050, bears out Bambrough’s thesis, “As we look to the future, presently known resources fall short of demand.” The deficit between newly mined uranium and reactor demand has averaged about 40 million pounds annually over the past decade, cannibalizing existing inventories. As we begin 2006, the supply/demand imbalance has reached a critical phase.

Where Will the Uranium Come From?

In his September 2004 presentation to the World Nuclear Association, Thomas L. Neff of MIT’s Center for International Studies, stated, “The net result of nearly twenty years of inventory liquidation is that existing higher-cost suppliers were driven out of business, new mines were discovered from starting, and exploration was neglected.” Neff warned in his conclusion, “The problem is the one to two decades that will be needed to expand (production) capacity and build the flow of nuclear fuel that meet the expanding requirements horizon.”

The 1970s price spike in uranium was limited because existing uranium mines were quickly ramped up to supply utilities with fuel. Neff noted, “This is not the case today and a longer period of high prices could prevail.” In Neff’s analysis, uranium prices would have risen well above $100/pound in the mid 1970s, using constant 2004 US$. On that basis, Bambrough’s hypothetical forecast above $500/pound may be not too far out of reach. Neff summarized why the problem has reached a critical stage, “We are currently facing the consequences of what may be the largest sustained divergence between expectations and reality in the 60 year history of uranium.”

Kevin Bambrough offered some slight relief for the uranium inventory problem, “There are a number of mines coming on, and there are talks of expansion.” He gave Australia’s Olympic Dam as one example, and added, “There’s lots of talk about big production coming on in Kazakhstan, but I’ve also heard reports saying that’s very optimistic.” The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is less sanguine, “Lead times to bring major projects into operation are typically between eight and ten years from discovery to start of production. To this total, five or more years must be added for exploration and discovery.” The IAEA doesn’t foresee relief until 2015 to 2020.

For the time being, U.S. utilities are forced to bide their time while they continue to rely mainly upon newly mined uranium imported from Canada or Australia. Once the world’s largest uranium producer, the estimated recoverable reserves in the United States now ranks but eighth in the world with four percent of known global reserves. Those 125,000 tonnes of uranium would supply 250 million pounds of uranium, far less than the unfilled maximum requirement for U.S. utilities over the next decade. The majority of domestically mined uranium now comes mainly from Wyoming, Texas and Nebraska. Permitting operations are progressing in New Mexico, once the country’s largest producer of uranium, which may become a significant uranium supplier later this decade.

“For people who want to bring on new (nuclear) facilities and contract for it, it’s very difficult to do that,” said Bambrough. “You have to go to mines that are not even there yet in order to try and contract supply.” In this light, it appears the greatest opportunity will appear with the junior uranium companies, which obtained known uranium resources during the last down cycle, and whose operators abandoned such properties because of low prices. As Neff warned in his presentation, “Uranium prices have recently reversed a twenty year decline, apparently surprising many buyers and sellers.” Buyers will be combing the same company lists investors scan. Just as investors will be racing to find the best uranium juniors for investment purposes, utility buyers and uranium traders will be scrambling to identify which company could provide them with a long-term uranium supply.

How Can Investors Profit?

Bambrough recalled compiling a worldwide list, in 2003, of a mere 25 companies involving in uranium mining and exploration. “I cut the list down to around ten that looked to be promising,” said Bambrough. “I’d say that today there are still less than 30 uranium companies that present a good reward-to-risk ratio considering the massive move the sector has made.” Depending upon whose list you believe, the number of companies now mining or exploring for uranium stretches to about 200. The majority trade on either the Canadian or Australian stock exchanges.

So how do you separate the potential winners from the also-ran’s? “People in the industry sort of know who’s real and who’s not,” said Bambrough. “I think a lot of the pure exploration companies are more likely to fall on tough times.” Bambrough cautioned, “I think there will be a real separation between the have’s and the have-not’s, those who actually have uranium and economic deposits. A lot of exploration companies are more likely to fall on tough times. Those are the ones that will get hurt because they don’t have anything to fall back upon. They have to go to market to keep raising money to do the expensive drilling that needs to be done. It costs so much.” Miller added, “It will take exploration funds, good geology, and some luck to find new uranium deposits in these frontier areas. The success rate of each individual prospect will be far less than 1 in 100.”

What sort of companies has Sprott Asset Management invested in? Bambrough responded, “We have preferred to invest in companies that have acquired properties that were once owned and were actively being worked by majors at the end of the 70’s bull market.” He added, “The cost of uranium exploration is so large there is great value built into many of these properties. Specifically, millions of dollars worth of drilling work and data have been collected on some properties. In some cases, mining shafts have been built that only require rehabilitation at a fraction of the cost of starting fresh with a green fields project.” Another example of what he does and doesn’t like, “The guys that picked up stuff in the last year, when they saw the uranium boom, they just said, ‘I’m going to go grab some land.’ I have greater confidence in the guys that have been there for a longer period of time, bought things when they were being thrown away at the lows, and waiting for the uranium price to rise.”

Bambrough shared a few of his favorite uranium stocks. “Of the companies that we own, we own a larger percentage of Strathmore Minerals (TSX: STM; Other OTC: STHJF) than almost any other company,” said Bambrough. “We think they’ve got some great properties. They were guys who got into the game very early, and who have skills as they do with David Miller (president and chief operating officer of Strathmore Minerals) in understanding the uranium business. And they have a very large amount of databases, as does Energy Metals Corporation, which is extremely valuable in understanding the properties.” Both Strathmore Minerals and Energy Metals have properties in New Mexico and Wyoming. “I think the future for New Mexico is quite good,” Bambrough noted, “as well as ISLs in Texas and Wyoming.” Said Strathmore’s president, David Miller, “Strathmore is the only company to open an office up in New Mexico dedicated to bringing properties into production. The office is staffed by two veteran uranium men, John Dejoia, VP of Technical Services and Juan Velazquez, VP of Environmental and Government Affairs. They have a number of subcontractors doing various required work to bring projects forward to obtain permits to mine.”

Another Sprott Asset Management favorite is Tournigan Gold Corp (TSX: TVC). “You look at a past producing region,” Bambrough pointed out. “They went and got old mines.” Tournigan recently drilled the historic Jahodna uranium resource in Slovakia, once drilled by the Russians. The company also holds uranium properties in Wyoming and recently acquired uranium properties in South Dakota. He also likes Western Prospector (TSX: WNP), saying, “Western Prospector has gone through areas where in some cases, there are shafts there that were dug by the Russians. A lot of work was previously done.” Others rounding out Bambrough’s preferred list of juniors include Paladin Resources (TSE: PDN) and Aflease, now trading as SXR Uranium One (TSE: SXR). “We also have a bit of investment in the Labrador area, and very small, mainly in Altius (TSX: ALS),” added Bambrough. “It’s something we’re watching. We think it’s a promising area.”

Where the Action Is

The more adventurous price action may be found in the ongoing consolidation within the uranium sector. Bambrough observed, “There appear to be a few aggressive junior uranium companies that seem to be moving forward and working to build a ‘major’ company.” In November, one uranium exploration company, Energy Metals Corporation (TSX: EMC) began takeover procedures to acquire two other uranium juniors, Quincy (TSX: QUI) and Standard Uranium (TSX: URN). Standard Uranium has since traded nearly 70 percent higher. “There are people who have neighboring properties, and it makes sense for them to come together,” advised Bambrough.

In late December, another of Bambrough’s favorite uranium companies, Strathmore Minerals (TSX: STM; Other OTC: STHJF), announced it had “engaged National Bank Financial as its exclusive financial adviser to review transaction alternatives to maximize shareholder value from its uranium assets.” Questioned about this news release, CEO Dev Randhawa told StockInterview.com, “National Bank has the best technical team and will help us reach the right decision to maximize the benefit to our shareholders.” In a December 7th note to his subscribers, Canaccord’s David Pescod wrote, “We talked to Dev Randhawa of Strathmore Minerals because Strathmore seemed to be the one company on most people’s list as an obvious take-out target. When we talked to Dev, obviously he wouldn’t be adverse to a take-out as long as the price is right, and he even gives us a 50/50 bet that they won’t be around in the next six to twelve months.” In a 2005 research report, the Cohen Independent Research Group set a price target of C$4.29/share for Strathmore Minerals, based upon the current spot uranium price.

How does Bambrough envision the uranium bull market unfolding for investors? “I think the market could really use more large cap uranium companies, since large fund managers currently can really only look to Cameco (NYSE: CCJ) and Energy Resources of Australia (ASX: ERA) to get exposure to the uranium market,” said Bambrough. “There are several junior companies that should come together to form large uranium companies to leverage their extremely valuable skilled personnel, lower the exorbitant costs of permitting and exploration, and achieving other economies of scale.” How soon would it be before a larger company, combining some of these promising juniors, reaches listed status on the New York exchange? “I would guess that a NYSE listing may not come until 2007 or 2008,” responded Bambrough. “I think that when the tap comes for a lot of these companies, it will come to those that are in production. You’ll be able to see a nice production profile, several projects, diversification, cash flows, and a nice pipeline of projects.”

As for the approximately 200 uranium exploration companies that have sprouted up in less than two years, Bambrough advised, “I don’t understand why people would put so much money into grassroots properties when there are properties that were (already) worked on, and you can continue on their work. The idea is we are continuing on those projects rather than going grassroots. It’s the logical place to go for me.” Bambrough is still enthusiastic about the uranium sector and closed his remarks, saying, “I expect that we will see a great out performance by quality uranium companies as they move their projects forward. We still see some incredible values and are still actively investing in the space. We are still in the early days of the uranium bull market.”

COPYRIGHT © 2007 by StockInterview, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

James Finch contributes to StockInterview.com and other publications. StockInterview’s “Investing in the Great Uranium Bull Market” has become the most popular book ever published for uranium mining stock investors. Visit http://www.stockinterview.com

[aries4747]

Exelon VP Thanks Speculators for Uranium Price Rise

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2007/05/25/2661966.htm
[May 25, 2007]

By James Finch

We thought by now we'd heard it all. But the quote which follows, given to us in a tape-recorded telephone interview by the man who obtains nuclear fuel for the largest nuclear utility in the United States, surprised even us.

From the point of view of todays price, they did us a favor by sending a really strong signal to the production-side community that it was time to get out there and start looking to get stuff back into production, Exelon Corp (NYSE: EXC) nuclear fuels vice president James Malone told StockInterview.com. Malone was referring to the uranium speculators and financial community, who have driven long-term uranium contracts to US$85/pound and the weekly spot price to $125/pound. It may not have happened as quickly without this strong signal.

And then we talked about the widening spread between the weekly spot and long-term uranium price.

I think the sellers have the perception that prices should be higher in the spot market, but obviously the buyers arent sharing that perception right now, Malone told us. Hence the pricing stalemate. There isnt any long-term activity to base a change in that price. Its been flat for several weeks.

According to the Uranium Marketing Annual Report, published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on May 16th, owners and operators of U.S. civilian nuclear reactors purchased 56 million pounds of uranium oxide equivalent from foreign suppliers at a weighted-average price of US$18.75/pound. The balance of 11 million pounds purchased by U.S. utilities in 2006 came from U.S. production and inventories, and sold at an average price of US$17.85.

Although the spot uranium price continues to set new records, many utilities are comfortable with the amount of U3O8 equivalent they have stockpiled. In his previous media interviews, Malone gave the impression that Exelon did not lack for the nuclear fuel to power the companys 17 reactors, which produce about 20 percent of the U.S. nuclear electricity.

We asked if this were true. Thats correct, he responded. Others such as Entergy (NYSE: ETR) and FPL (NYSE: FPL) may not be as fortunate. The rumored scramble by at least three utilities for uranium equivalent could be one driver for the higher spot price.

And this brought us back to the uranium speculators. In late April, Malone wrote a guest commentary, which appeared in Fuel Cycle Week. This nuclear industry trade publication is widely read by many who play an important role in the nuclear fuel cycle including utilities, fuel brokers, enrichment and fabrication companies, governments and investment funds.

In that issue Malone contended uranium speculators were driving up the spot price of uranium to make their investments in mining stocks more valuable.

We confirmed he continued to believe this. I am not knocking the guys who are in it for financial gain. I cant blame them for wanting to make money, but you have to understand what it is they are doing, he said.

Malone cited the strong correlation between the stocks of junior mining companies and the uranium price. The R squared is somewhere around 0.95, he explained. R-square is a statistical coefficient of determination, which provides information about the validity of a model. This compares with TradeTechs evaluation of the relationship to uranium stock share prices to the uranium price, which Gene Clark explained in an interview about a year ago.

Again he surprised us, having taken the time to meticulously study the sell-side of the uranium market. But Malone admitted, We didnt look at all 450 of them.

And why should he? Malone agreed with our premise that more than 90 percent of the uranium companies are likely to disintegrate at some point. Some of the smaller folks that are out there, really shouldnt be there because they are not going to make it, he said. The other folks are going to fill the gap so that well get a last marginal pound in at a reasonable price.

When would we reach this reasonable price? It depends upon how some things like Cigar Lake come back to life because thats such a large component of production, Malone said. Whether Shea Creek comes in during that timeframe which will pretty much make a big dent theres several smaller ones. Theres a raft of properties people want to bring back into production. They may be able to only produce one or two million pounds a year.

He agreed with our evaluation that many of those projections are falling short, especially on the smaller projects. But what about BHP Billiton's (NYSE: BHP) Olympic Dam? I think Olympic Dam is so big that they cant rush it, he said. After we pointed out this could become the biggest open crater on earth, we both broke into laughter. I think theyve got to be reasonable in their approach to it, he added.

We speculated about when hedge funds might begin selling uranium. Over the next few weeks, both Mestena Uranium LLC and an unnamed hedge fund plan to offer the largest amount of spot U3O8 and equivalent into the market in any single instance since last September. Dr. Robert Rich (http://stockinterview.com/News/04122007/Uranium-Industry-Expert-Yellowcake.html
), a director of Yellowcake Mining (OTC BB: YCKM) cautioned of a uranium price adjustment at an unspecified time. Bob and I used to share an office together when we were young and worked at Yankee Atomic, Malone said.

He agrees there could be an adjustment. It could be a two-phase thing. Some of the hedge funds may exit and just move on. Others may hang on and the market could stay above where it ought to be because its not yet fully rationalized with respect to the balance between supply and demand. He added, But, you could see some kind of adjustment that would bring it down a bit, and then take a longer time for it to reach a true rational equilibrium level.

Malones conclusion? The market fundamentals, if you simply look at the macro situation of supply and demand, it simply doesnt support those kinds of numbers, especially in that time frame, he said. It is really a puzzle why some people have such a strong bullish position.

And what does Malone believe is wrong with the time frame?

BOTTLENECK IN THE NUCLEAR RENAISSANCE?

Malone doesnt think the nuclear renaissance is as imminent as many have forecast. This is one of the things that frustrates me a little bit, he started. I think people need to understand: Theres an expectation of a tremendous number of plants around the world coming online real fast, and therefore driving demand up. Eventually, there will be that many plants. I just dont think they can come on as fast as some people think they can.

Where, then, is the obstacle? Youve got to get the forging to build the power plants, Malone pointed out. There are only a few places in the world that can do that right now. He cited Japan Steelworks as the predominant supplier, and two others one is South Korea and another in France. Theres nobody in the U.S., he said.

Its a long haul to get all the pieces, Malone explained. Japan Steelworks is putting out a slightly greater than 100 percent increase in their capacity to produce the forgings. The process is going to take several years, probably on the order of five to ten to get the real production up to where we want it to be.

Since 1974, Japan Steelworks (JSW) has manufactured the forgings of components found in nuclear plants. The company has manufactured about 130 reactor vessels now used around the world nearly 30 percent.

The company recently announced it would increase investments in manufacturing capacity to meet the global demand. One of the companys main targets is to supply new nuclear pressure vessels to the U.S. and Chinese markets. JSW anticipates orders for 25 pressure vessels and 31 from the U.S. Some wonder about the challenges increased activity in the nuclear sector holds for the supply chains growing demand for heavy forgings and other major components.

According to the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), license applications for more than 18 new reactors could be filed by a dozen energy companies by 2009.

On Wednesday, Richmond, Virginia-based Dominion Resources (NYSE: D) reportedly asked Hitachi (News - Alert) and General Electric (NYSE: GE) to build its third nuclear-powered electric generating unit at the companys North Anna power station in Mineral, Virginia. Earlier this month, Dominion awarded GE Energys nuclear business a contract to secure critical, long-lead components for the nuclear power unit. This order included large forgings required for GEs ESBWR reactor design. The forgings would likely come from Japan Steelworks.

A long lead time is required for the forgings. Its a long haul to get all the pieces, Malone told us. Right now, the facilities even for assembling a reactor in the United States are limited in their capabilities.

A bottleneck could result in obtaining heavy forgings as well as assembling them. In August 2006, Constellation Energy (NYSE: CEG) announced it had entered into an agreement with AREVA to procure 44 heavy forgings needed for the reactor pressure vessel and steam generators to construct the first potential nuclear power plant of a planned U.S. EPR fleet. The forgings will reportedly be manufactured into the final components at the BWX Technologies (NASDAQ: BWXT) facility in Mount Vernon, Indiana or AREVAs facility in Chalon-St. Marcel.

Construction on the Dominion plant could start as early as 2010. It could go into production by 2014. This matches the timetable Malone cautioned us about. He pointed to progress made by NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) made at the companys South Texas project.

On April 27th, NRG announced an agreement with Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) to help develop the combined construction and operating license for NRG Energys application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission later in 2007. The good news is that the ABWR (Advanced Boiling Water Reactor) has been built in Japan and is under construction in Taiwan, Malone said. The NRC has already certified General Electrics ABWR design. Its a known entity and licensed in the United States, Malone explained.

Doesnt this appear like enormous momentum moving forward? I think its going to be a slow build up, he told us. Its like one of those curves thats kind of slow, then has the knee out there the hockey stick and then it starts to go up. But he also warned, We have to have the folks to operate them. We have to have the infrastructure to build them. We have to have the regulatory oversight. If we go at it the right way as an industry, I think it can be terribly successful. He believes the renaissance will emerge several years down the road. Probably on the order of five to ten years to get the real production to where we want it to be, Malone said.

Malone firmly believes there will be a nuclear renaissance in the United States. We need electricity, theres a tremendous amount of emotion with respect to greenhouse gases, and nuclear can be base load electricity without the greenhouse gases, he told us. A lot of people are realizing that now, especially when James Lovelock takes the position that nuclear power is a good thing to do for electricity production. I think hes got the right message.

Our final surprise was that Malone had a copy of Investing in the Great Uranium Bull Market (http://bookstore.stockinterview.com/productcart/pc/home.asp). I was impressed by the fact that he (James Lovelock) was right in the foreword. Dr. Lovelock actually wrote the foreword for this publication and personally endorsed our book, writing, 'I unhesitatingly recommend it to politicians, environmentalists and all those concerned about our future.

And finally we asked whether or not Exelon Corp would participate in NYMEX futures trading. Thats too early to say, Malone responded. My position on that is we need to digest what we were told, learn how it works, observe it and if we believe theres some advantage or some useful purpose for us participating, then we would consider it.

And finally we asked whether or not Exelon Corp would participate in NYMEX futures trading. Thats too early to say, Malone responded. My position on that is we need to digest what we were told, learn how it works, observe it and if we believe theres some advantage or some useful purpose for us participating, then we would consider it.

But what about the safety of nuclear reactors, especially from terrorist attacks? After September 11th the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission mandated new security measures at U.S. nuclear power plants. These measures included altered or new physical barriers, increased security personnel, training enhancements and additional surveillance equipment. According to Exelon Corps website, the total cost of these enhancements exceeded $150 million in capital spending and now includes approximately $20 million in additional annual operating expenses each year.

How do these enhancements hold up?

In a recent note from the Nuclear Energy Institute, legendary actor Paul Newman (and now also becoming a legend for his line of food products) toured Entergys Indian Point nuclear plant outside New York City this past Monday (by the way, Paul Newman also has our book, Investing in the Great Uranium Bull Market). Mr. Newman reported as follows:

I recently toured the Indian Point nuclear plant and I expected to be shown safety and security at the plant. But what I saw exceeded my expectations. No Army or Navy base Ive ever visited has been more armored and I couldnt walk 30 feet inside the plant without swiping my key card to go through another security check point. There was security at every turn, and the commitment to safety is clear.

We agree with both Mr. Malone and Mr. Newman that nuclear power will be more important for the anticipated dramatic electricity growth in the future. And no one really knows precisely how much longer the spot uranium price could continue higher, where it will peak and at which price level would be sustainable. But everyone likes to guess about these matters.

COPYRIGHT© 2007 by StockInterview, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

James Finch contributes to StockInterview.com and other publications. His focus on the uranium mining and nuclear fuel sector resulted in the widely popular Investing in the Great Uranium Bull Market, which is now available on http://www.stockinterview.com and on http://www.amazon.com

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New UTUC Director brings impressive credentials.

UTUC 8-K from 5/18.

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1295190/000105652007000153/0001056520-07-000153-index.htm

Election of Directors; Appointment of Principal Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers

Effective May 15, 2007, Michael Sandidge was appointed a director of the Corporation.

Mr. Sandidge earned his Bachelor of Science in geology from the University of Washington in 1985, and his Masters of Science in geology from the University if Texas (El Paso) in 1993. He has authored or co-authored more than 15 scientific articles relating to structural geology, metallogenesis, and tectonics. He has affiliations with the Society of Economic Geologists, Society of Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits, and is a Washington State Professional Geologist (#2245) and a qualified person under NI 43-101 (Canadian National Instrument Qualified Person).

The are no material agreements or relationships which would be required to be disclosed herein

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SXRFF: Uranium One chart.

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Utah uranium mill sold to Canadian company

The Associated Press
Published: May 2, 2007

TICABOO, Utah: A uranium mill in southern Utah has been sold to a Canadian company, fueling hopes that it will operate for the first time since the early 1980s.

U.S. Energy Corp. said it sold the Shootaring Canyon uranium mill, north of Lake Powell, along with 38,000 acres (15,400 hectares) of mineral claims and leases, to sxr Uranium One Inc.

The mining parcels include the Sage Mine in San Juan County, near the Utah-Colorado border, and other properties in the Lisbon Valley, southeast of Moab, and the Henry Mountains, northwest of Ticaboo.

U.S. Energy, based in Riverton, Wyoming, said it will receive $6.6 million (€4.9 million) in cash and 6 million shares of Uranium One common stock. Uranium One also has pledged to pay $20 million (€15 million) if the Shootaring Canyon mill returns to commercial production and other incentives.

"We're delighted to become a shareholder in Uranium One," said Mark Larsen, U.S. Energy's president and chief operating officer. "It's a top-notch company. They'll do a great job for the state of Utah."

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Shootaring Canyon, the last uranium mill built in the United States, barely started operations in 1982 when the price of uranium collapsed, forcing a shutdown. Today, the price is approaching $115 per pound.

The mill, however, does not have a power supply and has relied on diesel-powered generators. Garfield County has studied how to extend electricity to Ticaboo.

Environmental advocates are watching. Steve Bloch, an attorney with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, said uranium mining is a speculative venture.

"We'll see what pans out at the end of the day," he said.

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Inside the Uranium Market’s Secret World
May 24, 2007 01:34 PM EST
by James Finch

Mired in secrecy, the uranium market hopes to someday offer price transparency. To whom will this ‘real’ uranium price become transparent? Industry insiders know well before the general investing public ever finds out.

Utility fuel managers compete with a few handfuls of fuel brokers for the best price break. Utilities complain about the unwelcome speculators who’ve entered the market. and utility spokesman predict a long-term price about one-half of the US$122/pound price indicator announced in Nuclear Market Review this past Friday (another consulting service chose $125/pound for their ‘price indicator’). Some uranium miners forecast a price racing past $200/pound. Who is gaming whom? Or is this all part of the negotiations process between producers and end-users?

Meanwhile, more immediate price transparency seems to appear at Mestena’s regular spot uranium price auctions than in the much larger, but secretive uranium marketplace. Yet, the amount this private uranium producer has sold is far less than one percent of the uranium consumed in 2006. The present spread between spot and long-term uranium pricing has raised eyebrows and led some to question the credibility of the spot price.

Mestena’s next auction reportedly takes place on May 30th, or at least that’s when offers to buy the U3O8 are due. This time Mestena will have a bit of competition. An unnamed hedge fund has contacted potential buyers to solicit offers for 200 thousand pounds U3O8 and 100 metric tons U as UF6 – two days after Mestena opens the magic envelopes. As more material is offered to the market, perhaps the spot and long-term price will narrow to a more logical spread. Perhaps, instead, this spread will close when utilities and investors reach a consensus on Cameco Corp’s (CCJ) Cigar Lake project, Rio Tinto’s (RTP) Namibian expansion and resolution of the March flooding in northern Australia, and a firm date on BHP Billiton’s (BHP) Olympic Dam expansion.

A Glimpse Inside This Secret World
The widely heralded ‘fiat uranium’ trading at the highly publicized NYMEX ring moves forward, but the exchange is still searching for participants, and it is about as entertaining as watching grass grow. In lower Manhattan, this commodity exchange was not only the first commodity forum to offer trading on platinum more than 40 years ago, but in early May began offering ‘paper’ uranium trading. The public can play the paper chase, but not for the real McCoy – U3O8.

In mid-town Manhattan, near Grand Central Station, a lesser known ‘commodity exchange,’ run by New York Nuclear, has real-time screen trading every Wednesday morning between 7:30 A.M. and 9:30 A.M. And the screen trading is for the real thing – the physical delivery of U3O8. The processed uranium is offered for delivery within a 30-day period at a licensed uranium conversion facility. Real product trading in real-time by real professionals, who mine uranium, consume uranium or act as a broker for either side.

No, the public is not invited to this clubby function. One must be a certified market participant to bid for or sell U3O8 through New York Nuclear’s Uranium Online. While NYMEX paper trading is open to amateurs and professional traders, Uranium Online only permits recognized persons to bid or offer uranium for sale.

“We have all categories as players,” New York Nuclear’s Joe McCourt told StockInterview.com. Those who have signed up to trade physical uranium on his online screen system include uranium producers, hedge funds, fuel brokers and utility fuel managers. “These are the major players in the physical uranium market,” McCourt added.

Our chat with Joe McCourt was quite enlightening. Later in an email exchange with Uranium One (SXRFF) chief executive Neal Froneman, we were told Joe is a ‘heck of a nice guy.’ Others in the industry echoed his sentiments.

In a few words, Joe explained why uranium price transparency is presently out of reach, and could remain a mythical goal for some time. “There’s so few players in the business, and there’s a lot of confidentiality,” McCourt told StockInterview. “Everybody wants to see what everybody else does, but they don’t want anybody to see what they do.”

McCourt has also observed this secrecy in his company’s online screen system trading of physical uranium. “Everybody wants to see everybody else’s posts, but they don’t want to post themselves,” he told us.

Surrounded by this degree of secrecy and the recent NYMEX competition, why does McCourt persist? “In my opinion, I think that utilities want transparency,” he told us. “We want to improve how the market works.”

So who participates in the weekly trading sessions? “These are people we know to be bonafide buyers and sellers,” McCourt said. And what makes these bonafide? “We are in touch with the major players. We’ve been in the business for 25 years, and we’ve done deals with many people. We know who is for real and who is not for real.” (See Joe McCourt end bio.)

How does McCourt screen out the gamers? “We have user agreements, rules and procedures that everybody signs,” he told us. “It’s a contract. When anybody posts something in the system, it’s a like valid offer. They make a commitment.”

Do the buyers and sellers know with whom they are dealing? “No, it’s anonymous,” McCourt said. “Only we know. We stand as the hub. They can see us, but they can’t see each other.” McCourt reassured us his system has kept permanent records of all transactions and discussions during those trading sessions. “We have a system that is auditable, if some authority comes to us,” he said.

Another concern was his company’s participation in the trading. “We don’t do it on our own account,” McCourt told us. “We are strictly brokers. We are matching buyers and sellers. It’s our reputation that’s on the line.”

Prior to participation in the online trading, everyone on the system is sent a possible counterparty list. Those companies who have had bad relationships in the past can strike off parties with whom they will not do business. “People are very concerned about credit,” McCourt explained. “You don’t want to sign a deal with someone you don’t like their credit, or you don’t think they are a reliable supplier.” He further explained that risk departments are ‘very involved with procurement these days and companies are very careful about their counterparts.’

What are the bugs in McCourt’s system? “Most material is bought and sold under long-term contracts,” he said. “There’s not a long of activity in the spot market. We are trying to help more activity develop in the spot market by making it easier for people to do deals, having certain delivery times and delivery locations.” In other words, McCourt hope to standardize the secondary market.

But why is there only one two-hour trading session per week? “There’s not a lot of liquidity in this market,” McCourt responded. “We picked two hours once a week to concentrate on this. Otherwise, it’s like watching paint dry.”

New York Nuclear has only completed one transaction since launching this late last year. Why? “For large companies, this is something new,” he explained. “It has to go through reviews, legal reviews, risk management reviews and all that. It’s a departure from what they normally do.” In other conversations we’ve had with utilities and industry insiders, this is the problem NYMEX faces in drawing utilities into trading on their exchange.

Still, McCourt’s action impacted NYMEX trading this past week. After screen trading was completed last Wednesday, the NYMEX June 2007 U3O8 uranium swap suddenly dropped. During the previous week, McCourt’s screen snapshot, published in his Thursday night edition of FreshFUEL showed June 2007 uranium at $122 and December uranium at $130. This past Wednesday, uranium for December delivery dropped to $125/pound.

No transactions took place. But, it does confirm that buyers would be willing to pay $122 to $125/pound to purchase U3O8 for June and December delivery. Sellers refused to part with their material. Five days later, Ux Consulting raised the firm’s weekly spot price indicator to $125/pound. Obviously, TradeTech decided on the front-month and made the judgment call of $122 in this Friday edition of Nuclear Market Review, while Ux Consulting decided upon December’s delivery month price.

As a fuel broker, which is New York Nuclear’s main business, McCourt said, “As far as spot volume is concerned, I don’t think anyone knows everything that’s going on.” He pointed out his company has been doing transactions off the screens. “We don’t publicize those transactions,” he told us. And true to his word, McCourt did not reveal the pricing on his company’s transactions.

McCourt hopes he can grow his online trading business by attracting more buyers and sellers to post on his screen system. “We are helping the buyers and sellers get together so eventually these screens will be populated with a lot of numbers, and hopefully a lot of transactions.” McCourt also pointed out, “That’s going to add tremendous transparency to this market, which doesn’t exist to a great extent now.” He hopes utility buyers can make routine, small purchases instead of infrequent large purchases. “Instead of buying one million pounds every year, they could buy 20,000 pounds every week,” McCourt said.

Conclusion
Over the past year, the combination of a sharp uranium price rise accompanied by the entry of new uranium producers has probably obscured price transparency instead of providing more transparency.

Aside from finding out why there is now a $37/pound spread between the spot and long-term contract price for U3O8, we have one significant unanswered question. At which levels are the ‘escalating’ floor prices for the recent contracts announced for the near-term U3O8 production by companies such as Paladin Resources (PALAF) and Uranium One? Until we gain a better understanding of these floor prices, we may not realistically have price transparency.

In the interim, investors and traders can have some glimpse of price transparency but only for short-term trading purposes. In a previous article, we evaluated some of the available market research tools available to the sophisticated investor. http://stockinterview.com/journal.html

Let’s put this into a linear timeline for better understanding.

The first company out of the box with any indication of where the uranium market could head during the current week and into the early part of the following week is New York Nuclear. Wednesday’s screen trading includes utility fuel managers, fuel brokers, utility risk managers and other buyers, who square off for two hours, early Wednesday morning, against their counterparts. These could include other fuel brokers, uranium producers or their marketing managers, hedge funds and speculators. To date, price indications are provided as to what buyers could be willing to pay for U3O8 purchases, and at which prices sellers won’t part with their material.

Granted, little transaction activity has taken place on the Uranium Online trading screens, but the activity during those screen trading sessions provides some price guidance. On Thursday night, Washington Nuclear (sister company of New York Nuclear) emails the weekly edition of FreshFUEL to paid subscribers. In the past two issues we’ve reviewed, a screen shot is provided on Page 2. The company’s tutorial can be found on its website at http://www.uranium.com.

Late Friday night each week, TradeTech publishes changes in the spot price in Nuclear Market Review. TradeTech interviews its proprietary list of market participants on Friday afternoon and gathers new data not reported in FreshFUEL. Because the market participants in the Wednesday screen sessions are mostly North American and European, TradeTech may obtain new data or find out about off-screen transactions post-Wednesday’s screen trading. A new weekly spot price is reported on TradeTech’s website at http://www.uranium.info

Every two weeks, Platts Nuclear Fuel is published for the nuclear industry. In the May 21st edition, one of three front page headlines reported, “Two uranium auctions expected to push U price up.” Spot price transactions, according to traders Platts interviewed, were expected to reach between $120 and $140/pound U3O8. Because Platts emails its newsletter to paid subscribers on Friday before TradeTech issues its weekly spot price, Platts subscribers get the ‘old’ price.

Sometime on late Monday, Ux Consulting reports its spot uranium price to paid subscribers. On a few occasions there have been negligible discrepancies between the UxC price and the TradeTech weekly spot price. Late Tuesday, non-UxC subscribers find out this consulting firm’s price indicator.

The next day, on early Wednesday morning a new cycle begins when New York Nuclear conducts the next session of its screen trading.

For all the hoopla, little uranium price transparency has taken place with NYMEX futures. Ux Consulting president Jeff Combs announced it would take about six months or so to develop. It’s the ‘or so’ part we believe may take longer than Mr. Combs expects. In the way of an apology, NYMEX suggested this tiny amount of trading was ‘what was expected.’

NYMEX faces the same hurdles New York Nuclear has yet to overcome. Risk management departments at utilities question whether or not they will participate in these futures. Of those we’ve had conversations with, we are told, “We are still studying this.”

Between New York Nuclear’s Wednesday screen trading of physical uranium (as opposed to ‘paper trading’) and TradeTech’s weekly report on the spot uranium price, we obtain some guidance as to the direction of the uranium market.

But this only provides short term visibility. Until the long-term uranium price and the spot price narrow the spread, and until price transparency comes about from the ‘escalating floor contracts,’ the general public will remain in the dark.

A real solution would come from physical uranium trading on a grand scale, as Joe McCourt envisions, instead of the fiat trading now taking place.
COPYRIGHT© 2007 by StockInterview, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

James Finch contributes to StockInterview.com and other publications. His focus on the uranium mining and nuclear fuel sector resulted in the widely popular “Investing in the Great Uranium Bull Market,” which is now available on http://www.stockinterview.com and on http://www.amazon.com

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History of Uranium in Utah
Taken from the Utah History Encyclopedia
http://www.onlineutah.com/uraniumhistory.shtml

URANIUM MINING IN UTAH

Uranium, a radioactive element, was first mined in the western United States in 1871 by Dr. Richard Pierce, who shipped 200 pounds of pitchblende to London from the Central City Mining District near Denver, Colorado. The ore was researched for fabrication of steel alloys, chemical experimentation and as pigments for dyes, inks and stained glass.

In 1898 Pierre and Marie Curie and G. Bemont isolated the "miracle element" radium from pitchblende. That same year, uranium, vanadium and radium were found to exist in carnotite, a mineral containing colorful red and yellow ores that had been used as body paint by early Navajo and Ute Indians on the Colorado Plateau. The discovery triggered a small prospecting boom in southeastern Utah, and radium mines in Grand and San Juan counties became a major source of ore for the Curies.

Prior to World War I, radium mining dwindled but a new bonanza was identified in the tailings dumps of the mines. When it was determined that the discarded vanadium added to molten steel would greatly increase the tensile strength and elasticity of the metal, Utah's vanadium industry flourished. One of the dominant figures in the resultant boom was Howard Balsley of Moab, who sold carnotite ores to Vitro Chemical Corporation of Pittsburgh for medicaments and luminous paint.

It wasn't until twenty-five years later, as a result of the atomic age and subsequent arms race of the Cold War, that uranium, previously considered a waste product of the vanadium mines, came into demand as a key element for nuclear weaponry. In the beginning, almost 90 percent of the United States' uranium supply was imported from the Belgian Congo and Canada. But scanty amounts being filtered from abandoned radium and vanadium dumps on the Colorado Plateau gave promise of an untapped domestic source. The Manhattan Project of the U.S. Corps of Engineers, charged with development of an atom bomb to end the war, instituted a covert program to mine uranium from the vanadium dumps and sent geologists to scour the region in search of new lodes.

With the end of World War II, the Atomic Energy Commission replaced the Manhattan Project and launched the first federally-sponsored mineral rush in history. The AEC constructed roads into the back country, promised $10,000 bonuses for new lodes of high-grade ore, guaranteed minimum prices and paid up to $50 per ton on 0.3 percent ore, constructed mills, helped with haulage expenses and posted geologic data on promising areas tracked by federal geologists using airborne scinillometers and other sophisticated radiation detection instruments.

The Four Corners area, where Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico meet, suddenly teemed with prospectors in the greatest ore search since the gold fever days of the previous century. Amateurs and experts, alike, followed AEC guidelines and used radiation detectors called Geiger counters to test promising sandstone formations for uranium deposits. Concentrating on exposed outcroppings along canyon rims, they searched primarily for the grayish Salt Wash member of the Morrison formation. When a likely claim was located, they used diamond drills to core test holes to determine if mineable ore was present.

In 1952 Charles Augustus Steen, an unemployed oil geologist from Texas, effectively proved there was significant uranium ore on the Colorado Plateau. Settling his wife and four young sons in a tarpaper shack near Cisco, he took off alone to seek the precious mineral. Unable to afford a geiger counter, he took a broken down drill rig into the back-country, ignored standard uranium-seeking technology, and used oil exploration geology to locate the Mi Vida mine in the Shinarump conglomerate of an area the AEC had deemed barren of ore. What had been ridiculed as "Steen's Folly" resulted in the nation's first big uranium strike in the Big Indian Wash of Lisbon Valley southeast of Moab.

Steen's find triggered more. Vernon Pick claimed the Delta Mine northwest of Hanksville, later selling it to international financier Floyd Odlum for nine million dollars and an airplane. Pratt Seegmiller staked the lucrative Freedom and Prospector claims near Marysvale. Joe Cooper and Fletcher Bronson discovered uranium in their played-out Happy Jack copper mine near Monticello and netted over $25 million. Between 1946 and 1959, 309,380 claims were filed in four Utah counties. A center of activity, the once sleepy farming town of Moab became known as "The Uranium Capitol of the World."

By 1955 there were approximately 800 mines producing high-trade ore on the Colorado Plateau. Utah alone had produced approximately nine million tons of ore valued at $25 million by the end of 1962. But then the industry almost came to a standstill. The AEC, now holding ample reserves, announced an eight-year limited program, and finally completely stopped buying uranium in 1970. Private industry triggered a brief second boom when nuclear power plants came on line in the mid-70s, but foreign competition, federal regulations and nuclear fears virtually put an end to domestic uranium mining.

During the uranium heyday, the federal government built several buying stations and a number of milling and reduction centers on the Colorado Plateau. Utah's AEC milling facilities were in Salt lake City, Monticello, LaSal, Blanding, and Mexican Hat. In 1957 Steen opened the Uranium Reduction Company, the nation's first large independent uranium mill, in Moab. Sold to Floyd Odlum's Atlas Corporation in 1962, the facility shut down in 1984. The federal mills were sold to private industry and finally disbanded.

Uranium excitement was not limited to the redrock desert. In the 1950s and 1960s, Salt lake City became known as the "Wall Street of Uranium Stocks." Triggered by a promoter named Jay Walters, Jr., a mania for buying penny stocks to finance developing uranium mines swept the country. The first offering was sold in 1953; by the end of 1954, eighty-one uranium firms were listed with the Utah Securities Commission. Housewives, schoolteachers, auto mechanics and insurance executives stood in line to buy certificates to finance large corporations such as Uranium Corporation of America, Standard Uranium, Federal, and Lisbon, and scores of false claims that didn't have a whiff of ore.

Utah's fabled uranium boom was not without tragedy. From the Manhattan Project days, health scientists warned that radiation in the mines was a danger to miners. Medical literature dating as early as the sixteenth century documented cancer deaths claiming a high percentage of radium miners in the Erz Mountains of Germany and Czechoslovakia. But neither the AEC, state governments, nor the mining companies would take responsibility to regulate ventilation and safety practices. It was not until hundreds of uranium miners in Utah, Colorado, Arizona and new Mexico had succumbed to lung cancer that safe levels of radiation were finally imposed. And not until 1989, after years of furtive court battles, that the United States Congress passed legislation to financially compensate radiation victims.

Although uranium mining in Utah and other western states has ceased, experts indicate that there is still substantial ore deep underground. Should demand for nuclear power revive and the market become viable, the Colorado Plateau may once again teem with the mines and mills of the atomic years.

See: Raye C. Ringholz, Uranium Frenzy, Boom and Bust on the Colorado Plateau (1989), and Raymond W. Taylor and Samuel W. Taylor, Uranium Fever, or No talk Under $1 Million (1970).

Raye C. Ringholz

[aries4747]

SWTS pumped out a stream of PR's!

From linked post:
SWTS to add 3,750,000 to 15,302,545 OS.

Officers and directors currently own 30% of OS. They're buried in debt, but if they pump out more positive sales info, could be interesting.

Amazon site for Sweet Success:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_hpc/104-1076015-1320747?url=search-alias%3Dhpc&field-keywords=....

[fringe_remnant]

PHFB

It's been getting healthy since the beginning of 2006. It needs consistent daily volume to become a trading vehicle though.

Please scroll down for both charts.

[aries4747]

PHFB chart getting healthy, fringe?
I'm asking over here because I don't expect a breakout, but looks like a steady climb.

[aries4747]

Sometimes I love the NT filings.

BZCN eBay site: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZbusinessauctionsincQQhtZ-1

Waiting to see the year-end and first quarter numbers for BZCN show up on PinkSheets Reports.

From AMRE NT filed today.

Part III - Narrative

State below in reasonable detail why Forms 10-K, 20-F, 11-K, 10-Q, 10-D, N-SAR,
N-CSR, or the transition report or portion thereof, could not be filed within
the prescribed time period.

The preparation of the Company's year end 10-KSB has been delayed due to the
time required to complete the accounting documentation and have those records
reviewed by the Company's independent auditor. As a result the Company has
faced unavoidable delays in the timely preparation of the information required
by its 10-QSB for the first quarter of 2007 and the 10-QSB cannot be timely
completed without unreasonable effort or expense to the Company.

Part IV - Other Information

(1) Name and telephone number of person to contact in regard to this
notification.

Delmar Janovec President [phone]
-------------- --------- ------------------
(Name) (Title) (Telephone Number)

(2) Have all other periodic reports required under section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or section 30 of the Investment Company
Act of 1940 during the 12 months or for such shorter period that the
registrant was required to file such report(s) been filed? If the answer
is no, identify report(s).
(X) Yes ( ) No

(3) Is it anticipated that any significant change in results of operations
from the corresponding period for the last fiscal year will be reflected
by the earnings statements to be included in the subject report or
portion thereof?
(X) Yes ( ) No

If so, attach an explanation of the anticipated change, both narrative and
quantitatively, and, if appropriate, state the reasons why a reasonable
estimate of the results cannot be made.

The Company revenues for period ended, March 31, 2007 as compared to March 31,
2006, will increase from $108,218 to $441,714, respectively or approximately
308%. The increase in revenues is due to an increase in the number of
commercial liquidation accounts for its majority owned subsidiary, BizAuctions,
Inc.


The revenues for the 1st Qtr. ending March 31, 2007 are approximate as the
final numbers for the 1st Qtr. have not yet been finalized by the Company and
reviewed by its independent auditors.

[Capstar]

You're right about NAUC being the sweeter of the two...

[aries4747]

Yep, it's a whopper too. When done, the OS will double. Delmar always has an S-8 working. In fact, he filed one a week or so before AMRE's huge move in April 2005.

[fringe_remnant]

AMRE S-8 Post Close -e-

[fringe_remnant]

Consider AENS

The mayor of NYC can't be all that wrong.

fringe

[aries4747]

Shuffling execs looks like their major recent activity. Their SEC filings show little reason to take notice. Chart play only at the moment, IMO.

AS = 200,000,000
OS = 118,043,776 as of 3/30/2007

[xZx]

thanks fringe. i noticed that MFI..! :) we may see a characteristic tail on the reversal candle, much as it traded in early april, right before the next uptrend. and with it the usual volume spike.

[fringe_remnant]

DPDW

MFI coming into play on the bottom.. check out the Bollinger arrangment.

Holding the MA area for now.

fringe

[xZx]

it's getting into the "strong buy" zone, imo. ;) i think the selling we've seen is due to the fear of a form NT on their upcoming Q. this happened with the 10K, but they filed it on time. i expect we'll see a sharp rally once the filing is here. they are on track for $20M in revenues if growth from Q1 remains flat. and this doesn't include the impact of any future acquisitions.

[aries4747]

PHST drop let me in.
PHST problem has ALWAYS been volume except for a several month period over a year ago when even the Wall Street Journal had to make note of it on their health stock round-up report. Pretty funny because WSJ doesn't mention OTC stocks usually, but PHST was a mover and they had to include it.

[fringe_remnant]

DPDW

A play close to brikk, a friend and moderator on my board. He knows the thing intimately.

[fringe_remnant]

That's Prolly Why The Chart

is picking up.

Jeff

[aries4747]

Actually, the Subsequent Events part demonstrates a commitment to start pushing the business, don't you think? On watch.